She's a Believer
by canadduh
Summary: Sam and Dean Winchester are not what she expected them to be. Granted the differences between real people and characters on TV were always major. For one thing, characters weren't real people. But real people were, y'know, real. This is the story of Rian Fitzgerald, an intern, a nobody, and a believer of the impossible. Sequel posted!
1. Supernatural?

"What the hell."

Rian looked up from her spot on the bed to see someone climbing through her window. Once the initial shock had worn off she opened her mouth to yell but found a large hand clasped gently but firmly over it. She was shaking and getting ready to bite the hand when she saw another man, for these two people were too large and muscular to be anything else, in her room.

Her gray eyes quickly flickered between the two men trying to find a way out of this situation. She'd taken some self defense when she was twelve but she had the sinking feeling that her orange belt in karate was not going to help her now.

Apparently her body was thinking ahead of her mind because suddenly she was licking the hand that covered her mouth. The man retracted his hand in disgust and if Rian herself wasn't in the position she was in, clad only in shorts and a sports bra surrounded by two grown men, she would have laughed at the look on his face. As it was she found that she could only glare at the two men.

"Who the fuck are you?" She questioned, now that she had use of her mouth, "Why the fuck are you here?"

She was reaching for her phone on the nightstand when the shorter of the two men, the one with the brilliant jade eyes, grabbed her wrist. She opened her mouth to yell but the other man, the taller one with the shaggy brown hair, covered her mouth again.

"We don't want to hurt you." The taller man said in a surprisingly kind and husky voice.

Rian rolled her eyes, those were the cliched words of the every day robber. She felt herself begin to shake, which always happened when she didn't have full control of her breathing, and tried desperately to calm down.

The first thing she did was count slowly backwards from ten. When that didn't work she tried saying the alphabet backwards starting from M then forwards starting from N. When none of her normal tactics worked she licked the hand again. She knew she wouldn't be able to calm down until she could breath properly.

"Are you okay?" The taller man asked and Rian glared at him.

"Two strange men are in my room and you're asking if I'm okay?" She quipped, which was probably not her brightest move of the day.

She shook her wrist free of the other man's grip and wrapped both of her arms around her stomach. Rian was pretty sure she was going to throw up. Nearly one hundred percent positive, in fact.

She turned her head to the side of the bed that the shorter man, Shorty, was standing on and proceeded to throw up, much to his disgust.

"Holy Crap" The man yelled, narrowly avoiding having his boots covered in the remains of Rian's lunch. "Shit man, I did not sign up for this."

Rian could hear the man walking towards the window but he was stopped by the taller one, Shaggy.

"Dean, we can't just leave her like this." Shaggy said as Rian continued to dry heave.

"No Sam," Shorty, apparently Dean, said gruffly, "I did not sign up for chicks throwing up on me. If Henry wants this hunt cleared up he can do it himself."

Shaggy, or Sam if Rian wanted to be proper, knelt by the bed. "What's your name?"

"Like I'd tell you." Rian said, or at least tried to say, her throat was sore and her mouth was gross and dry. Rian started to cough.

Sam looked around the room quickly before spotting a water bottle on one of the shelves. He grabbed it and unscrewed the lid before handing it to Rian.

"Thanks." She said, not one to forget her manners, before chugging the entire bottle in one go.

When she finished the water she took a moment to catch her breath and try to get her jumbled thoughts together. This was obviously not a normal break in but she couldn't figure out what the hell was going on.

"Like I'd tell you." Rian said at last, finally getting the full sentence out. "You break into my room and expect me to be forthcoming with information?"

Now that Rian had the chance to look at the two men she found that they looked familiar but couldn't quite place where from. She shook her head, obviously she didn't know who they were! And anyways, why did it matter? They were trespassing!

"You're right." Sam, no, Shaggy said with a small smirk, "I'm Sam and this is Dean. Do you live here?"

Rian looked at the man incredulously.

"No. I actually broke in early and decided to sit on the bed doing homework." Rian quipped gesturing to the laptop that had slid off her lap and the pile of papers that surrounded her, "dumb ass."

The other man, Shorty, snorted.

"Obviously our information was wrong, c'mon, Sammy." The man started to climb out the window.

"Wait?" Rian practically ordered. Dean and Sam. She knew those names, and those faces. But she couldn't possibly be right, could she? Unless, of course, someone was playing a very elaborate prank on her.

Or maybe she had drunk too much last night.

Except for the fact that Rian avoided alcohol like the plague that was entirely possible.

One of the men cleared their throats and Rian realized she hadn't actually asked the question she'd been meaning to ask.

"Sam and Dean who?" Rian asked, wringing her hands nervously.

"Winchester." Shaggy said.

Rian nearly fainted.

"That's not possible." Rian said, her face drained of color. "This is definitely not possible."

The brothers exchanged a look before the slowly made their way back into the room. They both moved to the same side of the bed to avoid the puke that Rian had so elegantly left on the floor. As a unit they knelt next to the bed. Sam took Rian's left hand gently between both of his while Dean kept his hands to himself.

"Hey, hey," Sam said gently, his voice working wonders on Rian's nerves. "What's wrong. We can help."

Rian shook her head slowly. If Sam hadn't had control of one of her hands she'd have both of them clutched into her chaotic brown hair, as it was one of her hands was working the curls into an almost nested state. Rian would not be surprised to find a birds egg there one of these days.

Sam started to murmur comforting words while Rian worked to calm herself down. Rian prided herself on being rational and calm in stressful situations and right now she was being neither of those, much to her own disappointment.

Rian could hear someone drumming their fingers on the floor and used the sound to calm her nerve. Thankfully it worked, unlike her other tactics, and she was able to finally open the eyes she didn't realize she had closed.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked again, hoping that this time the girl could answer.

"Why are you guys here?" Rian asked instead. How could she explain that these two men were part of a TV show that she had obsessed over for the past seven or eight years?

Maybe she was crazy. It was probably that, nothing else made sense.

"We're trying to find someone. A source told us this place was abandoned by them. Obviously they were wrong." Dean grumbled.

"Obviously" Rian said looking around the room, avoiding looking at the two impossible men.

Something was wrong. She noticed it immediately.

Rian pushed herself off the bed and stumbled across the room to her desk.

Well the desk that should have been hers.

Rian's desk was two horse stands supporting a slab of lightly finished wood. Rian's dad had worked in construction and Rian had gotten the stands and wood from him before he and her mom had split up. It was Rian's work desk for her wood work.

The desk in front of her was a dark wood, almost antique, monster of a desk. She had never seen the thing before in her life. The dresser matched the desk and the chair Rian had pushed out of the way was a rolling leather chair. Rian's chair and been a rusty blue metal folding chair.

She continued to look around the room, aware of both sets of eyes on her, before going to sit on the bed again. Neither of the Winchesters had moved from their spots.

"Okay, I'm officially crazy." Rian remarked before she started sobbing.

"I'll be in the car." Dean said before standing. Sam glared at him, trying to communicate that he needed to stay without using words.

Dean shook his head and made his escape the same way he had made his entrance. Sam sighed before turning his attention back to the young woman in front of him.

She looked to be Sam's age, about 22, with brown hair that needed a good brushing. She was wearing pink shorts and a gray sports bra. Sam could see a few scars on the girl's arms and legs that looked self inflicted but old. He resisted the urge to pull her into his arms.

Once it seemed that the girl was calming down again Sam asked another question. He was tired of calling her 'the girl'.

"What's your name?" Sam asked, this time Rian answered.

"Rian Fitzgerald" Rian said with a hiccup. "Sorry about the mess I'm in. Kinda a weird day."

"Tell me about it." Sam said in the tone that implied that he had also had a weird day.

"You wouldn't believe me." Rian said, "I don't even believe me."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, looking at the girl curiously.

It was only then that Rian became self conscious. She was well underclothed for her own comfort in front of another person. Quickly she stood and rushed to the dresser to go through the clothes there. Upon checking the size for each shirt she realized they would all be too tight. She groaned and went to the closet, hoping to find something more fitting there.

She was lucky to find a green sweater that was in her size. She threw it on before turning to look at Sam, who had watched her move throughout the room. He raised an eyebrow, prompting her to explain.

"I don't live here." Rian said, "I mean, I live in a house just like this and this room is a copy of my room but it's not mine."

Sam nodded, "Okay, what does that mean."

"I think it means I need your help." Rian said, running a hand through her hair only for it to get caught on tangles, "And hopefully a shower."

Sam chuckled before growing serious, "We can try to help you, Dean and I, but we're gonna need to know the full story."

"Not here, not until I have proper clothes." Rian said, picking up her laptop and shoving it into an empty backpack. She slipped her phone into one of the side pockets and turned to Sam, "Not until I have shoes."

Sam looked down to see that Rian was indeed barefoot. He agreed and the two left the room through the window onto a balcony that was attached to the house. There was no gate keeping anyone out and the path to the road was neatly trimmed. This was definitely not Rian's house.

"Did you have to bring her with you?" Dean gripped when Rian and Sam were standing next to the Impala at the bottom of the hill.

Rian was grinning and trying to resist the urge to pet the car. Truly, the shiny black chevy Impala was even more gorgeous in person than she had been on a TV screen.

Dean caught her staring at the car and frowned. The girl, Rian apparently, was much too excited about his Baby. He'd have to keep an even closer eye on her than he had been planning too.

"Sam says you need clothes before we get the story." Dean spoke when the group was driving off in the impala. "You and Sammy are gonna go to walmart or whatever and get you some clothes."

"Fine by me." Rian said, leaning back in her seat.

Now that she wasn't on the verge of a panic attack she was able to think. Rian had always believed in alternate and parallel universes, she just hadn't believed that it was possible to travel between them. She'd read fanfiction where the lucky- or unlucky- original character was transported to a different universe, maybe those were more credible than she'd thought?

Of course Rian wasn't ruling out the crazy, delusional, psychotic episode she was potential having.

But she didn't feel crazy. Okay, maybe she felt just a little bit crazy.

Mostly she was excited. For the first time in twenty-two years Rian was going on the adventure she had always dreamed of. Who gave a damn if this meant she was crazy?

"Rian?" The way Sam said her name told Rian that it was not the first time it had been spoken.

"Wha?" She said in her most brilliant fashion, turning to face forward instead of looking out the window of the backseat.

"We're at WalMart." Sam said, almost apologetically.

Rian saw both of the Winchesters watching her, Sam looking almost concerned, and Dean with a raised eyebrow. Rian blushed and mumbled something about how she had been thinking before scrambling out of the car.

"I'll be back in thirty." Dean said, although he was speaking to Sam, pointedly ignoring Rian.

Once they were in the store it didn't take long for the two of them to get into an argument about the best shoes for Rian.

"I'm the one who's gonna be wearing them." Rian pointed out, not for the first time, as she held up a pair of black converse.

"But boots are gonna protect your feet better!" Sam argued, holding up a pair of sturdy hiking boots. Rian was never going to admit that he had won her over with "They're only two dollars more and they'll last longer." She enjoyed the argument too much.

"Who says my feet need protecting?" Rian asked, "What if my feet are capable of protecting themselves?"

"What?" Sam asked, looking at the young woman with confusion.

"My feet are strong, independent, feet that don't need no shoes." Rian said before taking the boots from Sam and setting down the converse. She put the boots in the cart with the fleece lined green jacket they had found.

"What." Sam repeated before following Rian as she went to look for socks.

"This is a no shirt, no shoes, no service establishment." A nasally voice said from behind Rian and Sam, who were arguing over the merits of book socks compared to ankle socks, even though they had both chosen socks already.

Rian and Sam both turned to find that the owner of the voice was a lot shorter then they had expected. Rian was average in height, standing at five feet and six inches, but the man in front of them was lucky if he was considered 5' on a good day.

"Excuse me?" Rian asked politely. Honestly the man reminded her of Peter Pettigrew with a terrible comb over and over hanging front teeth.

"This is a no shirt, no shoes, no service establishment." The man repeated.

"I have a shirt on, he has shoes, what's the problem?" Rian asked, tilting her head to the side innocently, "Or are you trying to discriminate against me? Is that it? If so I'd like to speak to your manager about this."

"What?" The man asked, confused and unsettled by the turn this had taken.

"It's my religion." Rian explained, her voice taking on the tone of a mother scolding an unruly child, "I don't wear shoes because of my religion."

"Oh, well." The man said, "In that case."

He quickly turned and disappeared around the corner.

Sam watched Rian closely and saw that she was shaking.

"Are you okay?" He asked, putting a hand on the woman's shoulder

Rian turned to face Sam and he was relieved to see that she was only holding back laughter. He couldn't help but let out a chuckle and soon the two were giggling like mad.

"I can't believe he fell for that." Rian said, wiping away a tear, "how are people so unobservant? These boots are obviously not in your size."

"Well, not everyone can connect the dots," Sam said, having also calmed down from his laughing fit, "Nice job using religion."

"Thanks. I actually had this friend in college who never wore shoes because of his religion." Rian explained as the two went to look at jeans.

"Really? What was his religion?" Sam asked, watching Rian as she ran her hands on the clothes they were passing to find the jeans.

"I never asked." Rian said with a small frown.

Soon the cart was full of supplies that both Rian and Sam needed. Toiletries, clothes, some foodstuffs, and a duffle bag for Rian. They were at the checkout line when Sam grabbed a prepaid phone from an abandoned cart.

"For you." Sam said when Rian raised an eyebrow at him.

Rian shook her head and pulled her phone from the pocket of the backpack she was still wearing.

"I have a phone." Rian said.

"It's always good to have an extra." Sam argued

"I don't need an extra, Sam." Rian said, "You've already done enough I don't need a phone."

"Too bad." Sam said as they pulled up to the front of the line, effectively ending the conversation.

They walked out to find that Dean was nowhere in sight. Sam sighed and led Rian to a bench that was halfway between the two exits.

"Do you and Dean usually shop at walmart?" Rian asked

"When there's one around yeah." Sam said, "Otherwise we go to thrift stores. But I figured you'd want to get new clothes so they'd last longer."

"Thanks." Rian said, letting the two lapse into a comfortable silence.

Five minutes later Dean pulled up and the two loaded their findings into the back of the Impala. Dean just rolled his eyes before taking off to a motel.

The outside of the motel was gross and Rian was surprised to find that it was actually comfortable looking on the inside. There were two beds, a decent looking couch, a table with three chairs, a mini fridge, and a microwave. She and Sam lugged their things onto one of the beds.

Rian was just about to sit down when she found herself painfully against the wall. She cringed and groaned at the pain but otherwise remained silent.

Dean Winchester was holding a knife to her throat and Rian was not taking the threat lightly.

"What are you?" Dean growled out

Rian couldn't respond, any amount of movement of her throat would result in cut skin.

"I said, what are you?" Dean repeated harshly.

Rian looked down at Dean's arm and he followed her gaze to the knife. Getting the hint Dean moved the knife back but still kept it raised.

Rian took a deep breath, cleared her throat, and then finally spoke.

"I'm human, asshat." Rian said, now glaring at the Winchester, "And if you'd let me do the fucking tests I could prove it. But no, macho Winchester has to slam me into the wall. Seriously, no respect these days."

"Dean." Sam said quietly, "She's right, we haven't done the tests."

Dean grumbled but let Rian go. He shuffled through a duffle bag and brought out a flask of holy water and a silver knife.

Once the tests were done, Rian had insisted the brothers do them too, the three were sitting at the table. Rian looked at the bandage on her wrist and sighed.

"It's a long story." Rian said, answering a question Dean had posed while Sam was cleaning Rian's cut.

"We've got time, sweetheart." Dean said, "and you aren't going anywhere until you tell us."

"What is your problem, Winchester?" Rian asked, glaring at the older brother, "I haven't done shit to you."

"There's no Rian Fitzgerald in Aberdeen, sweetheart, there never has been." Dean growled, "There's no Fitzgerald family at all."

"Your point?" Rian asked, still glaring at the Winchester. Sam found that he was impressed by Rian's ability to hold her own, considering her earlier panic attacks.

"My point is that we don't know who you are." Dean said, leaning forward to make his point clearer, "So you better start talking."

"Fine," Rian spat, not liking Dean's attitude one bit. She'd had an aggressive boyfriend in her second quarter of college and Dean was acting just like he had. "Where should I start?"

"The beginning." Sam suggested, his voice much kinder than Dean's, though Rian could tell that he too was tense.

Rian sighed, "Okay, My name is Rian Fitzgerald, I'm twenty-two years old and I was born and raised in Aberdeen Washington. I attended the University of Washington for two years before my parents died. I've been working since then. I was working on some research for the firm I volunteer at on the weekends when you two climbed through my window."

There was silence in the room.

"Anything else you think is worth mentioning?" Dean asked, "Some small detail that you deem to be unimportant."

"I'm not a witch, or any other kind of supernatural creature, Dean." Rian said. After a pause of consideration she continued, "However there is something else but I doubt you two are going to believe it."

"Try us" Dean dared and Rian took the bait.

"That room back there wasn't mine. It was similar in some aspects, I guess. The bed was the same, the closet, the paint on the walls. But the desk and dresser weren't. I have my workspace in my room too, so it's never that neat. The clothes also weren't mine. The laptop and phone were but nothing else was." Rian cleared her throat, "Here's where you guys might think I'm crazy" Dean raised an eyebrow that said he already thought she was, Rian ignored it. "I think I'm from an alternate universe or something."

"Huh?" Dean breathed out, having not suspected that at all.

"What makes you say that?" Sam asked, hiding his suspicion so that Rian would continue her story.

"Well, the first clue was the room, the second was you two." Rian said

"Us?" Dean asked, pointing between him and his brother.

"Yeah," Rian agreed, leaning forward "You two. The Winchester brothers. Saving people, hunting things, the family business. You see, in this alternate universe your life is a TV show," Rian held up a hand to stop them as the brothers tried to interrupt, "Yes, I know it sounds crazy but hear me out, please," The brothers shared a look then nodded, "I think I can prove it."

"Go ahead," Sam said after a moment of silence.

Rian took a deep breath and then started, "Nod if what I say is correct, Sam, you went to Stanford with hopes to study law," Sam nodded, "Dean, you were raised as a hunter, strict orders to protect Sam, recently your dad went missing and that's why you got Sam from college." Dean nodded, though the glare he was wearing was not giving Rian any confidence.

"How do you know this?" Dean asked, his voice hard.

"I told you," Rian said, her voice just as hard, "A TV show."

"I don't believe you." Dean growled.

"Well too bad." Rian snaps, "Because it's true, okay. You guys are characters on a fucking TV show in some alternate universe that I happen to have transported from, okay?" She was shouting now, "there's nothing any of us can do about it so you might as well not be a dick."

Dean was quick. If Rian hadn't believed that before she believed in now. In the time it took Rian to breath Dean had her on the floor with a knife to her throat.

Rian glared at him, despite the fact that she could barely breath. He was glaring at her but that wasn't what scared Rian. It was the hard look Sam was giving her. Rian had hoped that Sam would be willing to at least hear her out.

Apparently she had been wrong.

"Do it." She croaked out, "don't you know how to pull through on a threat?"

Rian could feel her eyes burn and tried to blink back the tears to no avail. She didn't want to die, she was too young and she had so much that she wanted to do. She wanted to go bar hopping in Canada and surfing in Mexico. She wanted to go backpacking in Europe. She wanted to ride a train across the entire country.

"Dean," Sam said quietly and Rian felt a surge of hope, maybe he would help her, "Maybe she's right."

Dean didn't let up any pressure on Rian but he did turn to look at Sam.

"And maybe she's not, Sam." Dean was nearly shouting and it was not helping Rian calm down a bit, "We can't trust her. We don't know who she is and what she wants. Hell, she could be the thing that killed mom and Jess!"

At that Dean turned to Rian to find that the girl was silently crying. Her eyes were shut tight and Dean could see her lips moving but he couldn't make out what she was saying. He paused for a moment to study her.

She was shorter than him and Sammy but not super short, about five foot seven, five foot eight. She had long brown hair that obviously needed a wash. Her face was blotchy and her nose was running. Rian looked almost pitiful to Dean.

But not enough for him to move.

"I didn't" Rian said suddenly, her eyes were open and she was staring at Dean with a determination that he hadn't seen since Sam left for Stanford. "I'm not the 'thing' that killed Mary or Jess. I'm not a 'thing'" She sneered the word, "I'm a goddamned human being Dean. I don't want to hurt you or Sammy or anyone." She took a pitiful breath and looked at Sam, "I just want to go home."

* * *

A/N: Hello! I told you that my New Year's Resolution was to edit It's Not Possible, right? Well, it is! I plan to post one edited chapter a month until I catch up to where I'm at in the original. I will be posting the original chapters less frequently, however, because I feel like the style of writing I chose for the story doesn't fit the story anymore. Just so you know there will be some differences in the order of somethings and a lot more detail in some areas than in It's Not Possible.

I hope this flows better and is easier to read. I also hope you enjoy the changes that I've made!

-Ryn


	2. Vampires Don't Always Mean Twilight

It was the snoring that woke her.

They didn't show that on Supernatural.

The Winchester brothers were louder than jet engines. It was a wonder that the two actually slept.

Rian stared at the two sleeping brothers for a bit before realizing how creepy it was. She instead thought back to the conversation the three had had after Dean let her up from the floor.

It had gone better than she had expected. Sam and Dean had gone out into the walkway to have a small, heated, conversation and when they came back in Dean was at least civil. Rian found out that they had recently dealt with a Wendigo, the haunted lake, and the phantom traveler.

She knew they were somewhere between Phantom Traveler and Bloody Mary, but that was about it. She didn't know when most of the episodes actually took place. For all she knew it could be weeks before Bloody Mary even happened.

The fact that the brothers were in Aberdeen was proof that not every case they worked was shown in the series. Not that Rian was surprised, they'd have a lot of episodes if that were the case.

Another thing they hadn't shown was how boring the waiting was. Rian was awake for three hours before Sam stirred. She watched him walk into the bathroom and then amble around the main room for twenty minutes before he even noticed her.

"Holy shit." Sam exclaimed, causing Dean to jump out of the bed ready for combat.

When the brothers realized that it was just Rian they both blushed and apologized. Rian accepted the apologies before getting up to get ready for the day. She came out wearing light blue skinny jeans tucked into a pair of boot socks, the boots, a black three quarter sleeved shirt with the words 'First, I need coffee' printed on the front, a gray cashmere scarf, black fingerless gloves, and simple black casio watch.

It seemed that she and Sam shared a love of watches.

Her brown hair was neatly brushed to fall just past her shoulder blades with just a hint of anti-friz. The one non essential toiletry Rian had bought. She felt much better after her shower and the brothers both noticed how much straighter her stood now that she was comfortably clothed.

"Shower's open." Rian informed them needlessly before going to sit on the couch and pack away her spare clothes into the duffle bag. She filled her backpack with the essentials, a cheap wallet, her phone and laptop, and their new chargers. She had been lucky she had the iPhone 4 and that the chargers for the ipod touch worked on it. Her laptop was a revamped 2011 dell and used the same charger as the 2007 dells. She also put a spare change of clothes, some pads, the rest of her toiletries, and the pocket knife Dean had grudgingly given her last night, right before they went to bed.

Once that was done Rian just sat there, staring at the floor. She didn't notice the change in who occupied the bathroom, or the fact that Dean was now staring at her, until Dean cleared his throat.

"I'm, uh, sorry about last night." Dean said, almost turning it into a question. Rian nodded, accepting the apology, but didn't talk, which was just as well for Dean.

Once the three of them were ready for the day Dean drove them to Denny's for breakfast. Rian had added a gray cashmere scarf and black gloves. It wasn't even that cold outside, about 50 degrees, the norm for December in Grays Harbor, but Rian didn't care, she liked wearing scarves.

Rian ordered french toast with strawberries, Dean got a Grand Slam, and Sam got fresh fruit and some oatmeal. Rian also got coffee, which the boys were surprised to find that she drank black.

"Okay, so why are you two in Aberdeen, anyways?" Rian asked once everyone was nearly done. "And why were you guys climbing through my alternate universe window?"

"We're on a hunt, obviously" Sam said after a moment of contemplation, "We got a lead that led us to that room in that house."

"Yeah, but what are you hunting?" The boys shared a look and Rian sighed, "Look, I'm not an idiot, I know how risky hunting is. I know that I need training if I'm ever going to actually hunt. But I can help with research, it was kind of my job for y'know three-ish years."

Rian waited patiently as the two brothers had a silent conversation. She finished off her french toast and called for more coffee before either of them spoke.

"Alright, but you're off the hunt at the first sign of incompetency." Dean conceded and Rian nodded.

"Understood." Rian agreed, "now, what are you hunting?"

"Let's go back to the motel to talk." Sam said, looking around to see that Denny's was filling up.

"Sure." Dean agreed and went to pay while Sam and Rian walked out to the car.

"Hey Sam?" Rian asked once they were by the impala.

"Yeah?" Sam looked over at the young woman

"What are you and Dean gonna do with me?" Rian asked scuffing her boots on the ground and staring with seemed interest at a rock

"Honestly?" Sam asked, Rian nodded, "I don't know."

"That's fair," Rian said, finally looking at Sam, without turning her head "I mean, you two don't know me and there's no reason to believe what I say. For all you know I could have escaped from the looney bin."

"No." Sam said quickly.

"What do you mean?" Rian asked, this time turning to watch Sam closely.

"I mean," Sam started, he paused for a second and then sighed "I don't think you're crazy."

"No?" Rian asked hopefully

"No." Sam said, his tone implying that the conversation was over.

Rian turned to see that Dean was right next to her and nearly jumped out of her skin. She wished she had the guts to smack the smirk off of Dean Winchester's face.

As it was she just glared at him before finding her spot in the back of the Impala.

"So." Dean started, "What were you two talking about?"

"Looney bins." Rian answered honestly, "And whether or not I escaped from one. Y'see, Sam here doesn't believe that I did."

"Did you?" Dean asked, making eye contact with Rian through the rearview mirror.

"No," Rian said blandly, "I couldn't even find my way out of the children's corn maze out in Satsop. I was 21 the last time I went in there."

The brothers laughed and Rian relaxed a little. If they were laughing surely they wouldn't just dump her on the side of the road?

Then again, if they did that all Rian had to do was find a way to get to Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

With no money, or ID. Yeah, she could totally do that.

* * *

When they got back to the motel Sam set up shop at the table and called Rian over from the couch when he had everything from the hunt placed just right. Rian set her phone down, she didn't have service anyways, and went over to Sam.

After reading through the papers Rian pulled the laptop to her and looked Sam for permission to use it. To which he nodded.

"You have any ideas?" Dean asked from his spot on the bed where he was cleaning his weapons.

"This sounds like Billy Gohl." Rian explained, "I mean, I don't know if he even exists here but in my world Billy Gohl was this serial killer in the early 1900s. He was only cited for two killings but they suspected his involvement in over one hundred unsolved disappearances and murders. I think he was anti union or something. But anyways, he would isolate his victims before shooting them. Which matched the MO on these guys too, right? Well, except the blood draining, that's more twilight than 1900 serial killer."

Rian looked up to see Sam and Dean staring at her. She raised an eyebrow at them.

"What? My job was research." Rian defended "and anyways, when I was in high school I had to do a project on a historical figure in Aberdeen. I was sick the day they assigned the person and got stuck with Gohl."

"Here," Sam said reaching for the laptop, which Rian slid to him. After a minute of typing he spoke, "Okay, his name's Dave Gohl, but the rest of the story is the same."

"What I don't get is the blood draining." Dean said, getting up from his spot on the bed, "Why shoot the vic and then drain their blood?"

"A vampire Gohl enthusiast?" Rian suggested with a shrug, "How's the blood drained?"

"Bite mark," Sam said absently, already working through an idea. He turned to Rian, "What else do you know about Gohl?"

"Not much, I mean, there wasn't exactly a lot on the guy." Rian said, filling through the papers Dean and Sam had gotten printed. "Wait, look up something about a cabin. I think he might have had one somewhere."

Sam did just that as Rian continued to look through the papers. Dean got a beer from the mini fridge and returned to his spot on the bed, relishing in the fact that there was nothing for him to do.

"The man was a well-known union worker who was born in Germany." Sam said after a few minutes, making Rian jump, "He was known for the murders as well as intimidating people to keep them from organizing strikes and having them join the union he was in. Sailors Union of the Pacific." He heard Rian grumble at the fact that Gohl was pro union, "Okay here's the part we need, In March 1912 they found a skull of a possible victim near the Cabin Gohl had owned. I think we should check that out."

"Alright," Dean said, once again leaving his spot on the bed. Rian was surprised that he hadn't left an imprint of his body there. "You're staying here though, pipsqueak."

"No I'm not," Rian argued, "And I'm not even that short, you're just freakishly tall."

"Yes, you are." Dean said again, glaring at Rian for arguing back, "No arguments about it."

"I'm not a child, Dean." Rian said, returning Dean's glare, "You can't order me around. I swear not to get in the way, just please, don't leave me here alone."

She was afraid that they'd leave her completely. Rian wasn't sure what she'd do if that happened. Probably just waste away in the room until the manager kicked her out for not paying.

"And anyways," Rian continued before either of the brothers could speak, "If you leave me here I'll just hotwire a car and purposely get in your way.."

"Do you know how to hotwire a car?" Dean asked, looking mildly impressed.

"No, but I could figure it out." Rian said with a shrug. "I'm not a child you know, let's make this clear. I may be younger than you but that does not make me stupid or ignorant. I may not know exactly how to make holy water but I know more about this kind of stuff than was normal in my world. Either you let me go with you or I go to the police and get charges of kidnapping against you two. And believe me you may disappear but I'll know exactly how to find you."

"But if you're from another universe or whatever how would you get charges against us?" Dean asked, he was smirking and now more than ever Rian wished she was willing to follow through on a threat of physical violence. She really wanted to punch that smirk off Dean's face.

"I'd find a way." Rian said with another shrug, "My job was research, I'd figure it out."

"You keep saying research but what exactly was your job?" Sam asked curiously.

"Uh, I was trying to be a forensic researcher specializing in homicides before I had to drop out of college." Rian explained, "After I dropped out I got an internship at the police station in criminal research."

"Sounds violent." Dean said blandly.

"It sounded like an adventure to me. I wouldn't actually have been a part of investigations, I just would have made calculations about blood splatter and trajectory and shit like that." Rian said, "Instead I got to look up statistics and laws. It was boring."

"Sounds like Sammy's kind of deal." Dean said, pointing at his younger brother who had started packing their belongings at some point.

"Anyways, Dean Winchester, can I go or not?" Rian asked, getting them back on track.

Dean scrutinized Rian for a moment and she couldn't help but shiver. He looked like he was staring into her soul and judging every choice Rian had made in the past. Finally Dean looked away to have a silent conversation with Sam.

It was fascinating, watching them communicate by facial expression in person, if not a little creepy.

"Fine," Dean conceded, "you can come, but you have to do everything we say without argument. The moment things get dicey then you're getting confined to Baby."

"Sweet." Rian said before rushing to get her things packed. She donned her coat, gloves, and scarf and shoved her things into the seat next to her before grabbing her phone and opening it up to notes.

There she wrote down everything she remembered from season one of supernatural. It wasn't much, mostly the car crash at the end of the season, and a few minor details here and there. She remembered most of the episode titles, and what she didn't remember she could figure out later.

That is, if she didn't find a way back to her own universe.

Rian was wondering what was taking the boys so long when she looked up to see them talking to someone at the door. The girl was short, about 5'4, with long blonde hair and nearly elvish ears. She was wearing black slacks, a white button up, and heels. Rian almost thought she recognized her.

It wasn't until she turned around that she did recognize her. The girl was Cam, well, in Rian's universe her name had been Cam. In this one Rian had no clue what her name was. Even if it was Cam, Rian couldn't talk to her. She wasn't from this universe, Cam wouldn't know her.

Rian ducked down in the back as the Cam look-alike walked past the Impala. It wasn't until the doors opened and the brothers got in that Rian sat up properly in her seat.

"Who was that?" Rian asked, sticking her head between Sam and Dean, her voice was slightly shaking and Rian was hoping the boys wouldn't notice.

"She said her name was Louis." Sam explained why the girl was there. Apparently someone had seen a "Kate" walk into the room of the motel and Louis was looking for. This "Kate" person had been missing for several days.

Rian kept the fact that Louis looked just like her best friend Cameron to herself. She also kept the fact that she was about to have an anxiety attack over the thought of never seeing Cam again to herself. Rian decided that she was going to have to keep a lot to herself if she was going to survive this.

Taking deep breaths Rian leaned back into her seat and put the seat belt on. The impala was silent as Dean drove, using directions from Sam's laptop, to the cabin in the woods. Rian was focusing on breathing, timing her breaths to those of Sam. Dean was driving, and occasionally changing the song that was playing from his tapes. And Sam was staring out the window, trying to figure out what the brothers were going to do with their ward.

"Any theories on who this Kate is?" Dean asked after about fifteen minutes of silence.

Rian startled and nearly hit her head on the window what her elbow slipped from its perch. She had calmed down enough to watch the scenery as they made their way to the cabin.

"A couple." Rian said blandly, "Nothing concrete, of course, but theories, yeah."

"What are they?" Dean asked when Rian didn't explain.

"Well, theory one is that this Louis in the alternate version of my best friend Cameron. Now, before you debunk this she looks exactly like Cameron. Same rockstar body, same fashion sense, same looks. I mean, she even had the same teardrop tattoo on the back of her hand." Rian said, trying her hardest to hold back tears, "The rest of this theory is that this Kate is the alternate universe version of me and Louis is looking for her because that's what best friends do."

The brothers were silent for a few minutes before, finally, Sam spoke.

"You said you had two theories?" Sam asked, prompting Rian to continue.

"Kate doesn't exist and Louis was actually trying to sell you a sad story to hook up with you." Rian said and she smiled as Dean guffawed.

"Was that really your other theory?" Sam questioned

"No," Rian conceded, "My other theory was the Kate was a normal runaway and Louis just happened to look similar enough to Cameron that I just filled in the rest of the details."

The rest of the trip was made in silence. Rian was surprised at how fast the hour drive to the cabin seemed to go. She had expected it to take longer, considering that she had started to feel car sick about 25 minutes in.

Not that she would ever tell Dean Winchester that there was a very real possibility of her throwing up in his car.

The area around the cabin was cleared. Rian couldn't see any stumps so she had to assume that the cabin was built in a natural clearing. The cabin itself looked like something straight out of a horror film. There was ivy growing up the side, graffiti on the door that was hanging off its hinges. The window panes were broken and Rian could see tattered curtains blowing in the mild winter breeze.

Rian was suddenly very glad that she had decided to wear the scarf and gloves. She wrapped her arms around her stomach to hold back the shivers. If either of the brothers noticed how Rian strategically placed herself between them they didn't mention it.

"Someone's been here recently," Dean said, almost to himself.

He was kneeling next to a set of footprints. Rian knelt next to Dean to examine them.

"I'd say female, judging by the size of the brint, a pair of boots, hiking, not dress boots, and she was carrying something of moderate weight, I'd say around fifty-ish pounds." Rian looked up to see that the brothers were staring at her, "Forensics."

"Yeah, but you said you dropped out." Dean told her, shaking his head.

"Doesn't mean I stopped learning," Rian said, "I just didn't have to pay to learn anymore."

Rian was surprised to find herself suddenly on the ground. She hadn't heard her attacker come up behind her. Nor had she had the time to register the arms that had wrapped around her waist in order to throw her to the ground.

What she did register was the heavy weight on her back and the breath on her neck. Rian tried to roll over so that she was facing her attacker but the other person was too heavy.

When her ears stopped ringing Rian registered the sounds of Dean and Sam fighting and realized that she would have to deal with her situation on her own.

So Rian racked her brain for any useful information, ignoring the shivers that ran down her spine as the person on her back sniffed her. It was when she nearly gave up on getting herself out of the tough spot that Rian remembered something she had learned in her six months of karate at the age of twelve.

 _If you're caught become a dead weight it could surprise your attacker._

With no other ideas Rian did just that. She stopped struggling and let her body become as heavy as it could.

But it didn't work.

Rian could still hear the fighting as she felt soft hands push her hair away from her neck. The person, vampire, Rian realized, was roughly Rian's size. If she could just shift her position a little.

Rian screamed.

The pain that came with a vampire bite was worse than anything Rian had felt before. She knew that she had a pretty high pain tolerance. When she had stepped on the zipper of a pair of her younger brothers pants and punctured her skin Rian had barely batted an eye.

This was like stepping on a thousand legos at once. She felt a searing pain in her throat and it was made worse by the rapid beating of her heart. Rian could smell the metallic tang of blood and was about to pass out when suddenly the weight on her back was gone.

Rian felt, more than heard, Sam calling her name. She knew he was holding her but she couldn't clear her mind enough to figure out why. Her head was spinning and Rian was pretty sure she was high on something.

She'd taken pain meds with a worse high than whatever had been in that bite.

When Dean poured whiskey into Rian's wound she passed out.

* * *

When Rian came to she was surprised to find herself staring at a concrete ceiling that was nearly thirty feet from her head. She was laying on a bed of some kind and Rian was also covered in blankets.

The sound that woke her was the twinkle of chains. Or rather, the clang. Rian tried to lift her wrist to find it chained to the ground. She tried again with her other limbs to find the same result. Once she realized that she was trapped Rian gave up and stared at the ceiling.

She could feel a dull ache in her throat and she knew enough about first aid to know that someone had had to stitch her up. She wondered briefly what eating with the stitches would be like. She gave that up quickly and instead focused on figuring out how the hell she had gotten there.

When she tried to call out she found that her throat was too dry for such things. Instead, Rian went into a coughing fit. She was concerned that her stitches were going to pop until someone gently raised her head and brought a glass of water to her mouth.

Rian gulped at the water greedily, relishing in the cool feeling as it slid down her throat. Her head was propped up onto a makeshift pillow and she was about to speak again when Sam beat her to it.

"We weren't sure if you were going to change or not, so we had to chain you." Sam explained as her moved into Rian's view. She was about to bitch at him when she saw how disheveled he looked. There were several scratches on Sam that clearly had not been seen to.

"Fuck you." Rian growled.

She expected shit like this from Dean, but not Sam. At least not Sam so soon after losing Jessica.

Then again if Sam thought she was a threat to Dean then she was lucky to be alive.

"I have to feed to change, idiot." Rian said, tears running down her face. "And I'm not feeling the urge to feed. All I want to do is beat the shit out of you and Dean and then sleep for ten thousand years."

Sam chuckled.

"Scratch that," Rian continued, "All I want to do is go home."

* * *

Sam had let Rian out of the shackles after she had told him at least fifteen times that she wasn't going to try to bite him. She was in the middle of rubbing feeling back into her ankles when Dean came in, struggling body in tow.

"Why is she free?" Dean asked Sam, barely sparing Rian a glance.

Rian rolled her eyes, and decided to ignore Dean for as long as she possibly could. She didn't care how childish it was. Rian had broken better men with her silent treatment.

"She didn't turn." Sam explained, "Guess the bite wasn't enough."

Dean just grunted, turned his attention to his captive, and set about tying them to a chair. When he was done he stepped back to admire his handiwork before removing the cloth of their head to reveal someone who looked exactly like Rian. Well, exactly how Rian had looked when she was a teenager.

Kate, because Rian knew that's who it was, her first theory had been correct, was gagged. Rian could see her struggle with the bindings but they were too tight for her, for all she was a vampire.

Rian was speechless, all she could do was stare at the girl who could very easily be her sister. She was chubbier than Rian, although she looked exactly like Rian had when she was in her teens. She saw traces of blood on her face and nearly gagged. It was her own blood.

"Who is she" The girl spoke, Rian hadn't even noticed that Dean had removed the gag.

"She is none of your business." Dean said, "What were you doing by the cabin."

"Hunting for the ghost of Dave Gohl." Kate sneered. She didn't seem at all daunted by the two very tall, very well practiced, hunters.

"Gohl didn't even die here." Rian said, "There was nothing to attach him to this place."

"There was a shoe." Kate said, lifting a shoe that looked like it could have come from the early 20th century.

"You think he was emotionally attached to a shoe?" Dean deadpanned.

"She's lying." Rian said after examining Kate and seeing her own tells. The slight widening of the eyes and the twitch of the left eyebrow, "why were you really there?"

"Well, considering the three of you were there then I'm assuming you know about the victims." Kate said, her entire demeanor shifting. She looked younger now, closer to 13 instead of the 16-18 that Rian had previously thought her to be. "They way they were isolated and shot reminded me of Dave Gohl, I just wanted to check it out."

"Then why did you attack Rian?" Sam asked. He was standing next to where Rian sat almost protectively. Rian couldn't help but smile.

Suddenly Kate started crying, "I didn't mean too. I just, I was…" She looked up to stare pitifully at the three adults in the room, "I was attacked walking home from school about three months ago. Someone bit me and when I woke up on the ground with a burning craving for blood. Next thing I know I'm next to a body with a bite mark on their neck."

"And the bullet wound?" Sam asked kindly.

"The man had a gun. I decided to shoot him." Kate said, a manic glint in her eyes, "I figured they'd assume the bullet was the cause of death and the bite mark was a wolf or something."

"And your friends?" Dean asked, "What did they have to do with this?"

"You mean the Cullens?" Kate asked, "They were friends of the vamp that bit me."

"Cullens?" Rian asked, "Like, Stephanie Meyer's Twilight Cullens?"

"Twilight?" Kate asked, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Rian wasn't paying attention anymore. She knew that Twilight came out some time in 2005 but the fact that in this universe the Cullens were actual vampires was somehow too much for Rian to process.

"They're books." Rian muttered before she fell silent. "About vampires."

* * *

Sam and Dean proceeded to have a whispered conversation about what they were going to do with both Rian and Kate. Dean was all for ganking Kate and leaving Rian but Sam wanted Rian to come with them.

"She's smart, Dean." Sam said, not for the first time, "And she doesn't have anyone here."

"If she's so smart she can figure something out on her own." Dean argued, "She's not our responsibility."

Sam looked over at Rian who was staring blankly down at her hands. He was worried about how pale she looked. The bite had been their fault. They hadn't been paying enough attention to their surroundings and Rian had paid for it.

"Dean, she's injured because of us." Sam said, "The least we can do is take care of her until the wound heals properly."

Dean was silent for a moment and Sam began to worry that this was one of the things that he wouldn't budge on.

"Fine, but she's your responsibility." Dean said, poking Sam in the chest, "If anything happens to her it's on you. But the vampire's gotta go, Sam. She's killed people."

"Fine, I'll take Rian out to the impala and you can take care of Kate." Sam agreed before going over to Rian.

Rian didn't notice Sam until the large man was picking her up. She startled at the unexpected contact but was otherwise still.

"I can walk, y'know." Rian finally said when they were already out of the building. She was finding it hard to care that Sam was carrying her bridal style.

"This was easier." Sam said by way of explanation.

* * *

Rian was asleep in the backseat by the time Dean exited the building. For which he was grateful, even if Dean didn't want the girl along for the ride he also didn't want her to see that he was covered in blood.

"We just gonna leave the body there?" Sam asked quietly after checking to make sure Rian was actually asleep.

"There was a garbage shoot" Dean said, no emotion in his voice.

Sam let the conversation drop as they drove away from the abandoned warehouse.

* * *

They were nearing Olympia when Rian woke up from her nap. She stretched out the kinks in her back that accompanied sleeping in the backseat of a car. When she was properly woken she noticed the dull throb in her neck.

"Thanks for stitching me up," she said, not addressing either man directly because she wasn't sure who had gotten stuck with that task.

Dean just grunted, and instead of responding Rian settled down for a long drive.

Rian didn't notice that she had started to him until Sam commented on it.

"What are you humming?" He asked, making Rian blush.

"Hey Jude, It's something my mom used to sing to me" Rian said. She couldn't remember the last time she had so much as thought of the song. It reminded her too much of her mom.

"Oh." Dean said, turning to face forward with a clenched jaw.

Instead of thinking about her current situation Rian decided it was a better idea to pester the brothers with questions. Mostly this was to see how much of the show was accurate and how much of it was cut for TV.

Rian wasn't surprised to find out that a lot more time passed between hunts on TV. And she was starting to figure out that the majority of that time was spent on the road, driving from one random location to the next.

What she was surprised to find out was that Sam and Dean had a lot more connections to other hunters than she thought they would at this time. Granted, most of the connections had been their fathers before they were Sam and Dean's.

"Have you been to Lawrence recently?" Rian asked, trying to figure out if the episodes happened in order.

"Why would we go to Lawrence?" Dean asked, now more suspicious of Rian than he was before.

Sam wouldn't make eye contact with her.

* * *

 ** _A/N: Thought you should know that I hardly ever stick to posting schedules... oops. I'm halfway through my editing of It's Not Possible so I thought 'Why not post the second chapter'. I know I said I would post one chapter a month until I was caught up but I want to know what you guys think about it._**

NOTE: Title has changed from It's Not Possible (Edited) to She's a Believer

 ** _Also, I'm writing another fic... oops. This one is going to be CasXOC and I'm really excited for it. This one I will wait to post until I have more written. So that, unlike the Archangels story, I don't have to put it on hiatus because I lose inspiration._**

 ** _Sorry this was so long_**

 ** _-Ryn._**


	3. The Life of a Hunter

**HOME: part one**

They had been on the road for three weeks when Rian started to get suspicious of the late night whispered conversations between Sam and Dean. She knew that Dean did not want her there. He complained near constantly about everything Rian did. If she left her duffle bag unpacked for even ten minutes it resulted in a thirty minute lecture about how a hunter needs to be prepared.

No matter how many times Rian had mentioned that she was not a hunter Dean would not listen.

" _You're with us now, you live the life of a hunter."_

Rian nearly scoffed but she remembered at the last second that the brothers thought she was asleep. She'd woken up after a particularly harsh bump in the road and had caught the tail end of a sentence spoken by Sam.

" _Well, we can't just leave her with nothing."_ Sam had said.

Which followed shortly by Dean's "She's not our responsibility."

After that bump the brothers had stopped talking, waiting to make sure Rian was actually asleep. She schooled her breath into the even ones that came with sleep and waited for the brothers to start talking again.

Rian had almost given up on a continuation of the conversation when Sam spoke again.

"We could drop her off with Bobby." He said lowly, making sure he wasn't loud enough to wake Rian.

"We haven't seen Bobby in years." Dean pointed out, "I say we just leave her at a motel with a couple hundred bucks and let her make her own way."

"Really, Dean?" Sam asked, "What is your problem?"

"I don't have a problem." Dean argued.

"You obviously do." Sam countered, "You act like a jerk to Rian all the time. You're lecturing her nearly twenty four seven. What is your deal?"

Dean sighed and was silent for a moment.

"She deserves better than our life, Sammy." Dean finally said, "She's too innocent to be a hunter."

"And you don't think that maybe, if we leave her in some motel with a few hundred bucks, that she won't get involved?" Sam asked.

Rian had suspicions that they had been talking about what to do with her for the past few nights. She was growing tired of the two acting like she couldn't make decisions for herself. She may not have grown up a hunter but she knew more about their life, the life of a hunter, than even they did right now.

"And have you that that maybe," Rian started, sitting up suddenly and making the brothers eyes widen in shock, "she's old enough to make decisions for herself?"

Rian wasn't one for confrontation. She really wasn't. When Dean lectured her in his gruff manner Rian had taken it without complaint. The time that he yelled at her for slamming Baby's door shut too hard she had been silent. But she had taken enough shit from the older Winchester and it was time to put an end to it or to, as Dean put it, find her own way.

"Ria-" Sam started but Rian motioned for him to stop.

"Dean, I understand if you don't like me. You probably feel like I'm just some extra burden that you don't need right now in the search for your dad or whatever," Rian said, glaring at the back of Dean's head, "but don't for one second think that you have any control over my life. If you guys don't want me here then fine. I understand. But the least you could do is fucking talk to me about it."

She was crying now.

"I mean, I already have nothing. You gave me no reason to think that this would last." Now she had goddamned hiccups, "but" hiccup "I thought that at the very least" hiccup "you respected me enough to at least talk to me about leaving." Hiccup.

"Damn it" Dean yelled, pulling off the road and slamming on the breaks.

Rian's hiccups were gone.

No one in the car moved until Dean got out. Sam moved to follow but Dean must have made some signal that he was supposed to stay.

Rian tried to get control of herself while Dean was out of the car. She hadn't meant to lose control like that. Her plan had been to tell Dean off and let that be the end of it.

In no way was crying ever a part of her plan.

She hadn't cried since the panic attack she had had when she found a moth in the back of the Impala two days after she started travelling with the Winchesters.

Of all the irrational fears to have Rian, naturally, had to be deathly afraid of hair, nocturnal, butterflies.

"Sorry," Rian blubbered, seeing as she was not calming down.

Her nose was running and she felt a sneeze coming on, which always happened when she cried, but she wasn't sure what she could possibly do about it.

Well, no matter what it was going to be disgusting. Rian opened her bag and grabbed a tshirt out of it before sneezing into the shirt. Once she had wiped her face Rian finally stopped crying.

Sam handed Rian a water bottle. The two of them were silent while Rian finished off the entire bottle.

"Thanks" She said quietly, not looking up from the bottle she had crushed between her hands.

"How long were you awake?" Sam wanted to know.

"We can't just leave her with nothing." Rian quoted in her best Sam Winchester impression, which wasn't very good.

Sam winced and turned to look at Rian, "I'm sorry." He apologized, "for not talking to you about it."

Rian shook her head, "Honestly, it okay. I over reacted." She told him, "You guys have given me enough already. I mean, most people probably would have sent me in for psychoanalysis."

"No," Sam disagreed harshly, "It's not okay. I know what it's like to have things decided for you. I shouldn't have put you in that position."

"Sam," Rian said gently, causing the younger Winchester to turn around, "it really is okay. I promise."

The two were silent as they waited for Dean to come back to the Impala. They were both worrying about what Rian would do if Dean decided that she couldn't stay. Rian would probably go to Ellen or Bobby. Not that Sam knew she knew who they were. She'd kept who she knew a secret. Only telling them about certain events in their past to convince them that she really was from an alternate universe.

She'd told Sam about his dreams, in private of course. And she'd told Dean she knew about his past with Cassie. Although, Dean had nearly killed her for that one.

The two in the impala jumped when Dean opened the door. The elder Winchester was sweating and looked like he'd run a mile. Rian wouldn't have been surprised if he had, he was that irritated. Both Rian and Sam stayed silent while Dean climbed into the car, though Rian was still sniffling a little.

"So?" Sam ventured when they had been sitting in silence for a good three minutes.

Dean turned to Rian, looking defeated, "You can stay," He told the woman, "but the moment you don't obey one of our orders, if we think you're in danger, or if you get in our way, you're out. And you're stuck on research. The only time you can join us is when we're interrogating."

Rian nearly climbed over the seat to hug the older Winchester. She didn't, however, because she had the feeling any physical show of affection would change his mind. As it was Rian was beaming as she sat back in her seat.

Rian looked up to see that Sam had a matching smile as Dean pulled back onto the highway.

* * *

Rian rolled her neck, trying to work the kinks out of it. During the six weeks she'd been with the Winchesters she had grown used to sleeping in the back of the Impala. With the amount of time she'd been spending in the car Rian had also grown out of her perpetual carsickness.

The first time Dean had told her to pull over to puke Rian was positive that he was going to leave her there. The look of pure disgust on his face would have been priceless if it wasn't followed by a glare that told Rian if she ever puked in his car she would be dead.

Dean had stuck to his promise that he had made three weeks ago. In the two hunts they had been on since, none of them ones Rian knew, she'd been practically confined to the motel. In the first week one of the brothers was always with her. After the first hunt, however, they were both out, doing their own investigations. Not that Rian minded the quiet.

During the times that the boys were out Rian began working on a document that held all the information she knew from the show. She put down episode names that she remembered, people, events, monsters, ways to kill them, different weapons, and everything else she could remember. Which was a lot more than Rian would admit to the brothers.

The one time that Dean had tried to peek at her laptop she had nearly thrown up right there. The brothers had never seen Rian that pale. Not even when she had been bitten by Kate the day they met her. Just the idea of the brothers seeing all that information made her sick. The demon blood, hell, the angels, metatron, John's death. None of those were things that the brothers should see.

Neither brother went near her things without her permission after the colorful lecture Dean had been given. They found out that Rian's lectures were far more impressive than Dean's could ever hope to be. Dean had even learned a new cuss word.

When the Impala rolled up to the motel Rian quickly grabbed and stepped out of the car. She still did not like being confined for hours on end. Rian had a feeling she it was something she would never get used to. She waited impatiently for Dean to get their room key and almost knocked him over in her rush to get to the bathroom.

When she was done she found Dean on his laptop at the table and Sam sitting on the bed, working on something one a scratch piece of paper. The two looked comfortable. Rian grabbed her bag and went back into the bathroom to shower and change.

"Took you long enough." Dean derided when Rian had finally exited the bathroom.

"Took you long enough." Rian mocked back, before continuing in her normal voice "god you're such a guy."

"Whatever" Dean grumbled, pushing past Rian and into the bathroom.

"What's got his panties in a twist?" Rian asked Sam, who only shrugged.

Rian sighed before throwing herself on the other bed. She slipped under the covers then curled into a ball with her arms clutching at the pillow. By the time Dean left the bathroom Rian was sleeping soundly.

* * *

"I've been cruising some websites." Dean was saying when Rian woke up a few hours later "Think I found a few candidates for our next gig. A fishing trawler found off the coast of Cali. Its crew vanished. And we got some cattle mutilations in west Texas." He looked over at Sam to see that his younger brother wasn't paying attention to him, "Hey! Am I boring you with this hunting-Evil stuff?"

"No, I'm listening." Sam said barely looking up from the piece of paper that he was studying, "Keep going."

Dean grumbled before continuing, "And here a Sacramento man shot himself in the head three times." Dean was holding up the number three as an emphasis, "Any of these things blowing up your skirt, pal?"

"Wait, I've seen this." Sam said getting up to search his stuff. He found John's journal and pulled out a photograph

"Seen what? What are you doing?" Dean asked, confusion evident in every line of his face.

"Dean, Rian, I know where we have to go next." Sam told the two after comparing his drawing to the photograph of his family.

"Where?" Rian and Dean asked at the same time. Rian smirked at Dean who was glaring at her.

"Back home," Sam said, his voice slightly higher pitched than usual, "Back to Kansas."

"Okay," Dean said slowly, "Random. Where did that come from?"

"All right, um this photo was taken in front of our old house, right?" Sam asked showing Dean the photo as Rian also went over to look, "The house where mom died?"

"Yeah," Dean said, his voice hiding any emotion he might have been feeling then.

Honestly, Rian was beginning to think that the only two emotions Dean possessed were angry and horny. She and Sam had been kicked out on several occasions in the past few weeks so that Dean could have his way with a girl. And when they weren't kicked out Dean was often at the girl's apartment.

"It didn't burn down, right?" Sam asked, "I mean, not completely, they rebuilt after the fire?"

"I guess so," Dean said, "What the hell are you talking about?"

The moment that Rian had recognized the conversation she had rushed to her laptop to see what she had written down about the episode. There wasn't much, just a few details. Missouri, John showing up after the boys leave, and the ghost of their mom. That's all Rian had written on the episode.

What surprised Rian was that the episode "bugs" hadn't happened yet. She'd assumed that the episodes happened in order. Rian just hoped this was a case that never actually happened and she wouldn't have to go anywhere near anything to do with that hunt. She hated bugs.

"Okay, look, this is gonna sound crazy," Sam hesitated, looking at Rian who shrugged innocently, not offering her help "But the people who live in our old house, I think they might be in danger."

"Why would you think that?" Dean asked, looking between Rian and Sam, noting their exchange with suspicion.

"Uh just, um look, just you got to trust me on this, okay?" Sam pleaded as he started to gather his belongings.

"Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa." Dean stopped Sam from packing anything else with a hand to his chest, "Trust you?"

"Yeah." Sam said, a little pain in his voice from the hurt that had accompanied Dean's question.

"You got to give me a little bit more than that." Dean argued shoving Sam a little.

"I can't really explain it, is all." Sam said, throwing a pleading look at Rian who was chewing nervously on her bottom lip.

"Well, tough," Dean told him, sitting down roughly in the chair he had occupied earlier, "I'm not going anywhere until you do."

"I have these nightmares," Sam told Dean with one last pleading look at Rian. Instead of stopping the conversation Rian sat down on the bed, watching Sam expectantly but with a kind smile.

On one of the nights that they had been evicted from their rooms Rian had confronted Sam about his nightmares. They had talked for nearly five hours about them. Afterwords Rian had promised to wake Sam up whenever he was having one. Sam had hoped that it would prevent Dean from noticing.

"I've noticed," Dean told Sam. If Dean felt bad for the position he was putting Sam in he didn't show it at all.

"And sometimes they come true." Sam said quickly, knowing that if he didn't say it now he probably never would.

"Come again?" Dean said, disbelief making his voice go high.

"Look, Dean, I dreamt about Jessica's death for days before it happened," Sam told his older brother, the man he knew he could trust more than anyone on the planet.

"I'm sure it was just a coincidence." Dean argued.

"Like you believe in coincidences." Rian muttered, earning a glare from Dean.

"No, I dreamt about the blood dripping, her on the ceiling, the fire, everything," Sam looked like he was in pain and it made Rian cringe "And I didn't do anything 'cause I didn't believe it. Now I'm dreaming about that tree, about our house, and some woman inside screaming for help. I mean, that's where it all started, man. This has to mean something, right?"

"I don't know," Dean told him with a slow shake of his head.

"What do you mean you don't know, Dean?" Sam asked heatedly, "This this woman might be in danger. This might be the thing that killed mom and Jessica."

"All right, just slow down, would you?" Dean stood up suddenly, startling Rian "I mean, first you're telling me that you've got this Shining and then you tell me that I've got to go back home, especially when-"

"When what," Sam prompted when Dean didn't continue.

"When I swore to myself that I would never go back there" Dean finally told Sam, making sure that his younger brother knew how hard this was going to be for him.

"Dean, we have to check this out." Sam pleaded. "Just to make sure."

"I know we do." Dean said, resolute now that had made his decision.

(000)

"You know what's gonna happen?" Dean asked blandly once they had been on the road for almost three hours, with only Dean's tapes to break the silence.

"Some," Rian admitted, "I mean, you can't expect me to remember ten years worth of a TV show. But yeah, I know some of it."

Dean opened his mouth to ask another question and Rian held up a hand to silence him. Dean hated it when she did that and yet he stopped talking every time she did.

"And no, I can't tell you anything." Rian told him, "All you need to know is that, if it comes to it, I'll do my best to help."

"You're staying at a motel when we get there." Dean told her after a moment and Rian nearly got whiplash with how fast she looked over at him.

"You can't expect me to learn if you never let me experience anything, Dean." Rian argued, "Besides, I can help with this one, I know I can."

"You just admitted that you only know some of it." Dean pointed out.

"Which is more than you know." Rian argued, "And anyways, don't you think that if you're going to the house of a single woman with two children that it might be a little helpful to have an actual female there. Y'know, to make you too giants seem a little less threatening."

"She's got a point, Dean." Sam said, a smug grin on his face.

"Fine." Dean conceded, "but the moment things get dicey then you're out."

"Whatever you say, Dean." Rian hummed, looking out the window.

* * *

"You gonna be alright man?" Sam asked once they were outside the house that Dean had sworn he would never go back to.

"Let me get back to you on that." Dean grumbled once the three of them were out of the Impala.

Sam led the way up the path to the door with Dean right behind him and Rian behind Dean. The three were silent, Sam and Dean because of nerves, Rian because she didn't know what to say.

Sam knocked on the door and the brothers looked around as they waited for someone to answer. After a few moments the door opened to reveal a young woman who looked stressed and a little unnerved.

"Yes?" She asked, looking between the three young adults on her front porch nervously.

"Sorry to bother you ma'am but we're with the-" Dean started but her was cut off by a jab to the back from Rian as Sam stepped in. Dean turned to Rian with a murderous look that she ignored.

"I'm Sam Winchester, this is my brother Dean and our sister Rian." Sam interrupted smoothly.

"We used to live here." Rian added, her voice a little higher pitched than the other two were used to hearing. "Well, they did. I joined the family later."

Dean was glaring at her. Rian stuck her tongue out at him with all the maturity that she possessed.

"You know, we were just driving by, and we were wondering if we could come see the old place." Sam explained, wearing his most innocent smile. "We wanted to show Rian where we used to live, too."

"Winchester that is so funny" The woman said smiling a little at the hopeful expression on their faces, "You know, I, I think I found some of your photos the other night."

"I wanna see baby pictures of my brothers!" Rian nearly squealed, making everyone jump, "Sorry, it's just. We don't exactly have a lot. I was adopted after they left Lawrence."

"You did?" Dean asked, ignoring Rian.

"Okay." The woman said, obviously coming to a decision. She stepped out of the way to allow the three into her home, "Come on in."

Rian looked around the house as they were led through the hall into the kitchen. The house was spacious, if a little bare. The furnishings in the living room were sparse, from Rian's brief glimpse into the room she could tell it was rarely used.

In the kitchen a young girl, about nine years old, sat at an island doing homework. Off to the side of the room a young boy, no more than two years old, was sitting in a gated area begging for juice. The woman introduced herself as Jenny before introducing her two kids.

"That's Richie." Jenny told them walking to the fridge to pull out a Sippy-cup for the young man. "He's kind of a juice junkie. But, hey, at least he won't get scurvy."

"He's adorable." Rian assured her, "Do you mind if I say hi?"

Jenny was obviously surprised that Rian had asked.

While Rian hadn't grown up with siblings of her own, her dad had remarried a year after her parents divorced. Because of the remarriage Rian had suddenly found herself with six step siblings ages three to twelve. She'd quickly learned the ins and outs of taking care of children and had learned to love them.

"Go ahead," Jenny said before gesturing to the girl at the table, "Sari, this is Sam and Dean. That's Rian over there. They used to live here."

Rian waved from where she and Richie were playing a game of peek-a-boo.

"Hi," Sari said quietly, looking up from what she was working on.

"Hey Sari," Sam greeted gently, aware of how nervous the girl seemed.

"So you just moved in?" Dean asked, having noticed the moving boxes on their way in.

Jenny nodded, "Yeah, from Wichita."

"You got any family?" Dean asked curiously.

"No, I just, uh um, needed a fresh start." She looked reluctant to answer "That's all. So new town, new job I mean, as soon as I find one, new house."

"So, how you liking it so far?" Rian asked rejoining them after Richie went back to his juice. She had been trying to play with the kid and still pay attention to the conversation but she got too distracted and Richie didn't like that.

"Well, uh, all due respect to your childhood home, I mean, I'm sure you have lots of happy memories here, But this place has its issues." Jenny told them. The three could tell that she was already frustrated with the house.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked, sharing a look with Sam

"Well, it's just getting old like, the wiring, you know?" She shrugged "We've got Flickering lights almost hourly."

"Oh, that's too bad." Rian muttered, obviously not meaning it.

"What else?" Sam asked, his concern for the family showing in his voice

"Um sink's backed up." Jenny started to list the issues that the house had "There's rats in the basement. I'm sorry. I don't mean to complain".

"No." Sam said shaking his head. "It's really not a problem

"Have you seen the rats or have you just heard scratching?" Dean asked

"Just the scratching, actually." Jenny told him looking slightly confused.

"Mom?" Sari said to get her mother's attention "Ask them if it was here when they lived here."

"What, Sari?" Jenny said.

"The thing in my closet." Sari said, Rian could see the tears welling up in her eyes.

"Oh, no, baby, there was nothing in their closets." Jenny looked up at the three others hoping that they'd agree with her. "Right?"

"Right, no." Sam said, shaking his head. "No, of course not."

"She had a nightmare the other night." Jenny said by way of explanation.

"I wasn't dreaming." Sari argued obviously peeved that her mom didn't believe her, she turned to the three other adults, "It came into my bedroom, and it was on fire."

After a few more pleasantries were exchanged and the brothers were given the photos the three made their way out to the Impala. Rian had a few photos and was looking through them with oohs and aws as the boys talked.

"You heard that?" Sam asked once the door closed behind them "A figure on fire."

"And that woman Jenny, that was the woman in your dreams?" Dean asked

"Yeah." Sam nodded, "And you hear what she was talking about? Scratching, flickering lights? Both signs of a malevolent spirit."

"Yeah well. I'm just freaked out your weirdo visions are coming true." Dean told him, "And Rian over there is acting like it's totally normal."

"Forget about that for a minute." Sam said when Rian looked up to make a snide comment "The thing in the house, do you think it's the thing that killed mom and Jessica?"

"I don't know!" Dean yelled when they reach the impala.

"Has it come back or has it been there the whole time? Maybe it's something else entirely." Neither man got in the car but Rian had no qualms about getting in the back of the Impala.

"Sam, we don't know yet." Dean said, calmer than he felt, running a hand through his short hair.

"Those people are in danger, Dean." Rian cut in. She'd left the door to the impala open and had stuck her head out to address the older Winchester

"We have to get them out of that house." Sam added, grateful that Rian was on his side.

"And we will." Dean said finally getting in the car

"No, I mean now." Sam pleaded, rushing to get into his seat

"And how you're gonna do that?" Dean asked throwing the car into drive and looking at Sam "You got a story she's gonna believe?"

"Then what are we supposed to do?!" Sam yelled as Dean drove off.

* * *

The drive to the closest gas station was made in silence. Each occupant of the car was absorbed with their own thoughts. And even if they hadn't been no one was in the mood to talk. Not even Rian, who'd been yelled at plenty of times by Dean for 'chatting his ears off'.

"We just got to chill out, that's all." Dean said when the impala was parked "If this was any other kind of job, what would we do?"

"We'd try to figure out what we were dealing with." Sam said."We'd dig into the history of the house."

The brothers got out of the impala to stretch while Rian went into the gas station to use the restroom. When she exited the building she saw Dean sneaking around to the side and remembered the phone call he was about to make to John Winchester.

With a shrug Rian walked back to Sam, who was leaning against the Impala with his hands in his pockets. Rian perches on the hood on the car and starts kicking the back of her feet against the tire.

"Dean's gonna kill you if he sees you up there." Sam pointed out after a few moments of comfortable silence.

"Dean's gonna kill me the next time I breathe too loudly." Rian argued, "He may as well kill me for an actual reason."

Sam hummed in agreement as the two fell silent again. He cleared his throat after a moment and then asked the question he'd been trying to ask since Rian sat on the hood of the Impala.

"Do you know where our dad is?" Sam asked, almost desperate. He wouldn't make eye contact with Rian, almost like he was afraid of her answer.

"At times, yeah." Rian told him, looking down at her swinging feet, "but if I told you then you'd try to contact him."

"Isn't that kind of the point?" Sam questioned, turning to give Rian a hard look.

Rian jumped down from her perch and walked a few feet away from the Impala. She kicked a larger rock away from her then turned to Sam.

"You've seen back to the future, yeah?" Rian asked, Sam nodded, "No, that was a bad example, I haven't seen it." She ran her hands through her hair, getting them snagged in a tangle, with a grunt she pulled them free, "It's the butterfly effect, Sam. I know it's not just time travel, it's space travel too in my case. But what if I change something, and it's the wrong thing and everything gets worse?"

"But what if you don't change something and it still doesn't turn out the way you thought it would?" Sam countered.

"Well I'm obviously going to do that. I mean, it's already happened." Rian grumbled to herself before addressing Sam again, "look, all I know is that you guys aren't supposed to meet up with John yet. I have to choose what information to withhold on my own and I need you to respect that. I know Dean won't, he still doesn't believe me. I need you to at least let me make my own mistakes."

Sam was silent for a few moments, thinking over her request. While he did that Rian pulled out her bag and grabbed her phone, looking up the plot of Back to the Future. She smiled, realizing that it had been a good example in a way.

"I'll try," Sam said, finally, "no promises but I'll try."

"Try what?" Dean asked, finally back from the 'bathroom.'

"Nothing." Sam and Rian said together sharing a look that says they're not gonna tell Dean anything, which made Dean suspicious.

* * *

"I'll sleep in the Impala," Dean said immediately upon finding there was no couch in the motel room.

Usually the rooms they were in had a couch for Rian to sleep on. There options now where for someone to share a bed, sleep on the floor, or sleep in the car.

"You don't have to." Rian argued quickly, "I can take the floor, it's not that big of a deal."

Dean grumbled but didn't concede. He was picking up his bag to go out to the impala when Rian snatched it from him and threw it in the bathroom.

"Get out of my way." Dean growled as he tried to push past Rian.

"No," Rian argued, "I'll sleep on the floor, you two can have the beds."

"I've slept in the impala before and you haven't thrown a fit." Dean pointed out, backing away a little.

"We weren't on hunts then. When we're not on a case then that's fine. Whatever. I don't give a shit where you sleep," Rian told him, "But when you two need to be your best then you are both sleeping in a proper bed."

"Why do you care?" Dean questioned, he regretted it immediately when Rian teared up.

"Fuck." Rian muttered before throwing the bathroom door and shutting herself in.

She really needed to stop crying when she confronted Dean. His question hadn't even been accusatory, just curious. He genuinely hadn't known why she cared. But that also meant that he didn't think of her as a friend, like she thought of him as one.

If he thought of her as a friend then he'd know that she genuinely cared about their wellbeing. Not because they were her only real chance of getting home. Not because they protected her or even because she knew so much about them.

She thought of them as her friends and wanted the best for them. And that meant a bed when they were on hunts. She couldn't give them much, couldn't thank them enough for putting up with her. Whenever she could though Rian made sure that they had what they needed.

Rian heard the murmur of voices and pressed her ear against the door to listen to Sam and Dean talk.

"I didn't mean to make her cry, Sam." Dean said quietly, defending himself.

"Well you did." Sam pointed out, just as quiet. "How could you ask her that?"

Dean huffed, "Because I wanted to know?" He said, "Why was it so bad?"

Rian could imagine Sam shaking his head in exasperation, "For someone so versed in the mind of a woman you can be such an idiot," Sam said wisely, "just think about what you asked and what you've managed to retain about Rian aside from the fact that you hate her."

"I don't hate her." Dean said, his voice low enough that Rian barely heard it.

"Well you sure as hell don't act like it." Sam pointed out, louder now than he had been before "she tries to do something kind for you and you throw it back in her face."

"Well what am I supposed to do?" Dean asked, "It's not like she's my friend."

Rian's tears started flowing more freely at that. It was one thing to think it but another to hear it from Dean. They weren't friends. Friendships can't happen with just one person invested. They weren't friends and Rian had been acting like they were. No wonder Dean didn't like her.

"And that there is your problem, Dean." Sam told him, his voice harsh, "you're not even trying to understand her. She's not an idiot. She hasn't been a burden on us at all, not really. She listens to what we say, she helps with the research. And all you do is treat her like crap." Sam got quieter and Rian had to strain to hear him, "have you ever thought that maybe, just maybe, despite all the shit you've thrown at her, that she was trying to be your friend?"

The room fell silent after that and Rian decided to use that as an opportunity to take a shower.


	4. Apologies and Such

**HOME: Part Two**

When Rain had gotten out of the bathroom the brothers were each on their own beds and there was a pile of blankets and pillows for Rian in between them. She gave Sam a nod, ignoring Dean, and arranged her bedding so that she would be comfortable.

Rian barely slept a wink, she was so caught up in her thoughts.

she was worried that if she couldn't get Dean to at least respect her a little then he would just get rid of her the first time she messed up. And if he found out that she knew the location of their dad before she was ready to tell him then Rian was sure she would be left behind.

As it was Rian didn't know how to change Dean's opinion of her so she was silent as they went about the day's investigations. Dean hadn't protested when Rian joined the brothers in the car so she took that as a good sign. At least he wasn't pissed that she had started crying again.

It was only after talking to the mechanic that John Winchester used to work for that the brothers had discovered Missouri Moseley. Rian had been silent the entire time they'd been talking the mechanic and looking for Missouri. Whenever she was addressed she only offered a shake or nod of her head in response.

While they sat waiting for Missouri Sam tried to get Rian to talk with him but she refused. She wasn't made at Sam, hell she was beyond grateful to the giant moose of a man, she just knew that if she tried to speak she'd start crying again.

She needed to get over herself and get on with her life. Rian couldn't give up just because Dean fucking Winchester did not want to be her friend.

"All right then. Don't you worry about a thing, your wife is crazy about you." Missouri said letting her previous patient out the door. "Poor bastard. His woman cold-bangin' the gardener."

Rian looked up at the sound of Missouri's voice. She was grateful to anyone who would get her out of the awkward situation she was in with the Winchester brothers. Dean wouldn't look at her and Sam had given up on trying to get her to talk.

"Why didn't you tell him?" Dean asked, talking for the first time since they'd figured out who Missouri was.

"People don't come here for the truth" Missouri said like it was the most obvious thing in the world "They come for good news."

No one said anything.

"Well? Rian, Sam, Dean, come on already." Missouri beckoned, leading the group to the room she conducted her business in, "I ain't got all day."

Rian observed the room, noting that there was none of the more 'psychic' stuff that she'd had out front. Rian figured that all the junk out front was more for the sake of appearances than anything else. She also guessed that Missouri had two rooms for her clients. One for the more superstitious and one for the people she would actually try to help.

"Well, let me look at you." She demanded, after pulling each of the boys into their own hug "Oh, you boys grew up handsome. And you were one goofy-Looking kid, too."

Rian watched with a sad smile and was surprised when Missouri pulled her into a hug, "And you, poor thing." Missouri said before turning to glare at Dean, "If you don't start treating this girl better then I'm going to kick your ass into next sunday."

"Sam. Oh, honey. I'm sorry about your girlfriend. And your father he's missing?" Missouri asked after scrutinizing Sam.

"How'd you know all that?" Sam asked

"Well, you were just thinking it, just now."

Rian took a seat on the couch. She looked at Sam pleadingly and the moose sat down right next to her. She gave him an appreciative smile for being the buffer between her and Dean.

"Well, where is he? Is he okay?" Dean asked taking a seat next to Sam.

"I don't know." Missouri said sadly.

"Don't know? You're supposed to be a psychic, right?" Dean asked rudely.

"Boy, you see me sawing some bony tramp in half? You think I'm a magician? I may be able to read thoughts and sense energies in a room, but I can't just pull facts out of thin air." Missouri huffed and took her own seat. She glared at Dean who was getting read to put his feet on the table, "Boy, you put your foot on my coffee table, I'm gonna whack you with a spoon."

Rian giggled.

"I didn't do anything" Dean defended fervently

"Well, you were thinking about it." Missouri reprimanded.

"Okay, so our dad." Sam said, getting the conversation back on track, "When did you first meet him? "

"He came for a reading a few days after the fire. I just told him what was really out there in the dark." She paused for a moment "I guess you could say I drew back the curtains for him."

"What about the fire? Do you know about what killed our mom?" Dean questioned

"A little. Your daddy took me to your house. He was hoping I could sense the echoes, the fingerprints of this thing."

"And could you?" Rian asked

"I don't-" Missouri began

"What was it?" Dean interrupted earning himself a glare from both Sam and Missouri

"I don't know. But it was evil" Missouri continued. "So, you think something's back in that house?"

"Definitely." Sam agreed, leaning forward so that his arms hang off his legs.

"I don't understand." Missouri told them

"What?" Dean asked

"I haven't been back inside, but I've been keeping an eye on the place, and it's been quiet." Missouri looked at the three of them "No sudden deaths, no freak accidents. Why is it acting up now?"

"I don't know. But dad going missing and Jessica dying and now this house, all happening at once. It just feels like something's starting" Sam said

"That's a comforting thought." Dean grumbled.

"Rian," Missouri said suddenly "Can you tell me a bit about yourself, how you came to be with these two boys?"

"Can't you read her?" Dean asked rudely

"Sometimes it helps to get information straight from the source." Missouri said matter-of-factly.

"Sure. I promised Sam I'd tell him my full name so I guess now's as good as any time." Rian smiled at Sam then looked at Missouri, "My full name is Finley Errian Ora Fitzgerald. I'm 22 and I was born in Aberdeen Washington."

"Your first name is Finley?" Dean interrupted with a snort.

"And that is why I didn't want to tell you," Rian said, glaring at Dean, "Anyways, I'm not actually sure on how, or why, I ended up with these two. But it happened and I guess it's okay until I can find better arrangements where I'm not constantly in the way."

Missouri nodded, "If I thought you were serious about that I'd offer to let you stay here, but I'm certain that you have other plans."

"That is true." Rian agreed, "Such as going to check on Jenny and make sure nothing bad has happened since last night."

"Do you think something bad happened?" Sam asked and Rian looked over at him.

"I'm positive," She admitted, "which is why we should be leaving."

Sam and Rian stood but Dean remained where he had been sitting. He was glaring at Rian which she returned.

"Look, Dean Winchester," Rian began, "I don't give a damn that you're mad at me. But if you're willing to endanger the life of an innocent woman over a stupid fight then you're not even close to being the man I thought you were."

Dean glared for another moment then stood and stormed out of the room, Sam followed. Rian hung back to give the two room to talk.

"Nice job," Missouri said, Rian raised an eyebrow in confusion, "standing up to that boy. Don't let him, or anyone else, walk all over you."

"I'll try my best." Rian assured her, "especially with Dean. He just doesn't understand me yet. I'm sure if he decides to try that we'll be the best of friends."

Rian left quickly after that, afraid that she'd cry at the sympathetic look that Missouri was giving her.

Shortly after that she returned to find Missouri holding a bag. Rian just grinned and helped her out to the car.

"Thank you," She said to the woman, "for being so understanding."

"It's my job, dear girl." Missouri told Rian, "Now let's go knock some sense into that Dean Winchester."

* * *

"Sam, Rian, Dean, what are you guys doing here?" Jenny breathed upon answering the door. She looked freaked over something but she tried her best to give the four near-strangers on her porch a smile.

"Jenny, hey," Rian said, taking the lead. She could feel Dean start to protest and raised a hand in warning at him, "This is our friend, Missouri. Is it okay if we talk to you for a moment? It's about the house."

"Sorry, now's not a good time." Jenny apologized

"Listen Jenny, it's important," Dean said. Missouri hit him over the head and Rian turned to glare at him.

"Ow, is it abuse Dean day?" Dean muttered.

"If it was you'd be bruised and battered." Rian assured him before turning back to Jenny.

"Give the poor girl a break." Missouri said glaring at Dean "Can't you see she's upset? Forgive this boy. He means well. He's not the sharpest tool in the shed. But here me out."

Rian wished that one day she'd possess half of Missouri's ability to get people to trust her.

"About what?" Jenny asked, still wary but deciding that she could trust Missouri and Rian at least a little. Though she wasn't too sure about the men.

"About this house." Missouri said kindly, nodding towards the house

"What are you talking about?" Jenny shuddered, looking scared

"I think you know what I'm talking about. You think there's something in this house, something that wants to hurt your family. Am I mistaken?" Missouri said

"We can help, Jenny," Rian assured, "Sam and Dean may not look it but they're actually decently smart. If anyone can protect your family it's them."

"Hey," Dean protested but he shut up with a grunt after elbowed him.

Jenny nodded, letting them into the house. The group was situated in the living room and Rian had fetched Jenny a cup of water. After that she intercepted Richie from bother her mother and sat him down on the floor to play with some blocks.

She helped him build a miniature castle as she listened to the conversation.

"What happened?" Sam asked gently. He was seated on a chair to the right of the couch that Missouri and Jenny occupied. Dean was leaning against the wall.

"I was on the phone with the insurance agency." Jenny said, at everyone's confused looks she explained, "The plumber had an accident."

"I'm sorry," Missouri said, placing a gentle hand on the woman's knee.

"I left the room for a little bit because I heard some banging around upstairs. I thought it was rats but I don't think so anymore. When I got back to the room the door to Richie's play area was down and I couldn't find him." Jenny's eyes started to water. "He was in the fridge. The safety on the fridge was locked. That's not possible. Sari was in here the entire time and Richie couldn't have done it himself."

Rian apologized to Richie before walking over to kneel in front of the boy's mother. Rian waited for Jenny to make eye contact with her before speaking.

"Jenny," Rian said, seeing the signs of a panic attack, "breath, you're okay. Richie's okay, Sari's okay." Jenny nodded, taking deep breaths, "I told you Sam and Dean are smarter than they look right?" Another nod, "yeah, well, it's kind of their job to help people. And they will help your family, they just need a little help from you first, is all. Can you do that, Jenny?"

"Sure," Jenny agreed and Rian gave her a reassuring smile.

"Sweet," Rian said, "Now, how about you Richie and Sari go out to a movie tonight? Do you think that you're up to that," At Jenny's nod Rian continued, "While the three of you do that Missouri, Sam and Dean will go through the house and get rid of whatever is trying to hurt your family."

"How will they do that?" Jenny asked.

"I actually have no idea," Rian said, looking at Sam for help.

"Missouri here can actually sense malevolent spirits," Sam explained, taking over, "we'll do our normal exorcism and Missouri will make sure that whatever it is has left."

"Alright," Jenny said, "Can I make a request first?"

"Sure," Sam agreed with a kind smile.

"Is it okay if Rian comes with us?" Jenny asked cautiously

"No." Dean said, "She can't."

Rian glared at Dean, "She can also make decisions for herself." Rian said, her voice cold. Rian turned to Jenny with a smile, "I would love to go with you guys. Sam and Dean will pay."

"What-" Dean protested but a glare from Missouri, Sam, and Rian shut him up.

* * *

After multiple assurance that the boys and Missouri would be fine the four moviegoers were escorted out of the house. Jenny kept on looking back cautiously and Rian put a hand on her shoulder, giving her an assuring smile.

"Look, I -You know, I'm not sure I'm comfortable leaving you guys here alone." Jenny said looking between Rian and Missouri.

"I know it's weird and we're asking a lot of you Jenny," Rian said, holding Sari's hand, "but this house needs some work in order for your children to stay safe. Please, you need to trust us."

Jenny nodded and Rian turned to Missouri, "Be careful please, I have a feeling that this might be more than we bargained for. And call us when you're finished."

Missouri nodded with a smile, "You worry too much honey."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Make sure the idiots stay safe." Rian pleaded, Missouri nodded and Rian turned to follow Jenny out to her car.

* * *

Dean was almost done with the job when he heard a noise behind him. He turned just in time to move out of the way of a flying knife. Cursing he lifted a table to use as a shield against the knives that followed. He quickly finished the job and the ran out to see how Sammy was doing.

He found his brother with a lamp cord wrapped around his neck and flung himself down to help get the man out of his predicament.

"Sam," Dean grunted "Sam"

Dean found the pack that he needed and broke a hole in the wall, shielding his eyes from the white light that followed. He turned and helped Sam then brought him into the kitchen before taking out his phone to call Rian.

" _This is Papa John's,"_ Rian's voice came through the line, " _What can I get for you?"_

"Ya uh, everything's set here if you're ready to come back." Dean said cautiously,

" _That's not a pizza, sir."_ Rian said, her voice decidedly less cheerful than it had been, " _Okay, yeah, we're a few blocks out. Don't leave too much of a mess''_

Dean heard the dial tone and looked around the kitchen, the place was a mess. He shook his head still a little creeped out by how much Rian seemed to know about what was going on. It made him wonder about what Rian knew about where their dad was. He didn't believe her other dimension explanation but she did know a lot more about the brothers then Dean was comfortable with.

"Are you sure this is over?" Sam asked, breaking Dean out of his reverie

"I'm sure." Missouri replied "Why? Why do you ask?"

"No, never mind." Sam shrugged "It's nothing, I guess."

"Hello?" The three heard Rian call from the front of the house.

"We're in the kitchen," Sam yelled, letting Rian know it was safe.

"We're home." Jenny announced walking into the room, she was holding a sleeping Richie. Jenny paused as she looked at the mess that the brothers had created. "What happened?"

"Hi. Sorry." Sam said, rubbing the back of his neck "Um, we'll… We'll pay for all of this."

"Don't you worry," Missouri said at nearly the same time, "Dean's gonna clean up this mess."

Dean didn't move.

"Well, what are you waiting for, boy?" Missouri demanded "Get the mop. And don't cuss at me."

Dean threw his arms up and walked out of the room. It seemed that Dean Winchester had learned when to pick his battles.

* * *

"So, tell me again." Dean said as he leaned back in the front seat of the impala "What are we still doing here?"

"I don't know, I-I just I still have a bad feeling." Sam told him shifting to get a better view of the house

"Why? Missouri did her whole Zelda Rubenstein thing." Dean pointed out, "The house should be clean. This should be over."

"Yeah, probably, but I just want to make sure." Sam glanced at Dean then back at the house "That's all."

"The problem is I could be sleeping in a bed right now." Dean grumbled, letting his eyes fall shut.

"Same," Rian said from her spot on the floor in the back.

Both the brothers jumped, turning to look at Rian with an impressive amount of expletives. When they saw that it was only Rian Sam relaxed but Dean was definitely pissed.

"I thought we told you to stay at the motel." Dean growled.

"And I thought I told you not to order me around like a child, Dean." Rian observed, "And anyways, I never agreed to that."

"We thought you were in the shower." Sam said, he sounded more impressed than anything.

"Well, no." Rian said, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, "I was climbing out the window. I just left the shower running."

"What the hell made you think that this was a good idea?" Dean demanded to know.

Rian sighed, they'd been over it at least twelve times since Sam had brought up going back.

"While you guys deal with whatever is out there I'm going to help Jenny keep her kids calm." Rian explained, "You know it's something I'm good at." Dean tried to interrupt but Rian held up her hand to stop him, something he was surprised he actually listened to, "And no, I won't be in danger. I'm not going inside."

"Dean," Sam yelled, having seen something, or rather someone, in the upstairs windows.

"Stay here," Dean ordered as he and Sam clambered out out of the Impala and ran into the house.

That was an order Rian had no problem following.

While Dean and Sam ran into the house to save the family that lived there. Rian rummaged through the back of the Impala for the ax that she knew Dean would need. She was slowly starting to remember the exact details of the rest of this episode.

Back in the house Sam went to get the kids out while Dean ran to save Jenny.

"Sari, take your brother outside as fast as you can and don't look back." Sam said once he'd grabbed Sari from her room where the burning creature was. He had grabbed Richie from his room right off, he didn't want Richie to be too afraid.

Sari took Richie and carried the boy downstairs and outside to the waiting Rian. Rian wrapped the two in a hug as they waited for Dean to lead Jenny out.

Jenny and Dean ran out a few moments later. Sam tried to follow but the door slammed shut on him. While Rian pulled Jenny into her group hug Dean ran back to the door to try to get to Sam.

"Dean," Rian yelled, pointing to the ax she'd left by the door.

Dean nodded, took the ax, and started to break down the door.

Rian turned to the family and ushered them a little further from the house, just to be on the safe side. Jenny and Sari were holding on tightly to Richie and the boy looked completely confused.

"I'm sorry." Rian said, startling Jenny, "We thought whatever was in your house had left but apparently we were wrong."

"It's okay," Jenny said, accepting the apology, "You're here now and thanks to the three of you my family is alive."

Soon after that a livid Dean was marching toward Rian. She stepped away from the family and waited for him to stop in front of her. When he did stop he was silent. Rian watched him breath heavily but otherwise she didn't move.

"You knew." Dean accused.

"Knew what?" Rian asked, confused.

"You knew it was our mom in there." Dean elaborated, "She said your name!"

"She what?" Rian asked, confused, "Dean, I've never met your mother. I wasn't even in there. Maybe you misheard."

"It was definitely your name." Sam assured her, "She definitely said your name."

Rian looked between the brothers in confusion. She glanced over at the family that was watching them with trepidation and then sighed.

"Look, I don't know what happened in there. Not everything, obviously." Rian told them, "and you two can question me about it to your hearts desires but not right now. Right now I need to call Missouri and you two need to double check the house."

"Look at you, giving orders." Dean said harshly.

"Fine, don't double check the house. I won't call Missouri. We'll just send Jenny and her kids in and hope that nothing else happens." Rian hissed, "don't be such an idiot, Dean. If you cared enough to pay attention you'd know that I don't like idiots."

With that Rian turned and stalked over to the Impala, pulling out her phone. After she had discovered that she didn't get service in this universe Rian and Sam had gone out to buy her a pre-paid flip phone, and that was what Rian was using to call Missouri.

She picked up on the first ring.

"Hey, do you think you can come back down to the house? You don't need to be here immediately, just in the next few hours." Rian said, noting even waiting for a greeting.

" _Hello to you too."_ Missouri quipped.

"Sorry, I just had another fight with Dean." Rian apologized.

" _It's alright, sweetheart."_ Missouri assured, " _I'll be there by 7."_

"Thanks, Missouri." Rian said before hanging up.

* * *

Rian had planned on sleeping in the two hours before Missouri arrived. She had curled up into a ball in the back of the impala but sleep had been elusive. Instead Rian tried to figure out how Mary Winchester would know her name.

She had only been in the universe for six weeks. Rian had definitely not met Mary Winchester. Then again the woman was dead, surely there are ways for the dead to know more than the living.

There was also that episode where Cas had sent Dean to the past and he'd met his mother. Maybe Rian had been there when it happened.

Just the thought of being in the Supernatural universe for that long made Rian want to puke.

After only twenty minutes of trying to sleep Rian went over to where Dean was brooding. She had it in mind to apologize to the Winchester. She had disobeyed one of the conditions of her staying. On top of that she had been yelling at him a lot more than was probably necessary.

"What do you want?" Dean grunted when he saw Rian's boots in the line of his sight.

"To apologize," Rian said, Dean looked up at her in surprise. "I've been a bitch lately and I know you're just worried because you don't trust me and you think I'm crazy." Dean tried to talk but Rian held up her hand, "Which I totally understand. I'm not blaming you, I'm trying to apologize here. And speaking of that I also wanted to apologize for breaking the rule of obeying you and Sam. I don't regret doing it, I knew it was the right thing, but I do regret having to break the rule in the first place. I know the reason you have the rules is so that I don't screw up and endanger you or Sam."

Dean stared at Rian wide eyed for a moment before shaking his head, "It's alright."

"Really?" Rian asked, surprised. She'd thought he'd bitch her out for breaking the rules and then leave her on the curb.

What Dean said next left Rian speechless.

"Yeah. I want to apologize too, I've been yelling at you practically since we first met. And you're right, I don't trust you," Dean held up his hand to stop Rian from interrupting, "but I think I'm willing to try."

Before Rian could respond Dean was walking towards Sam, who had been talking with Jenny and Sari until that point. Rian watched the two go over to great Missouri, who had just arrived, before breaking out into a grin.

* * *

"Well, there are no spirits in there anymore, this time for sure." Missouri said sitting down on the steps of the house. She and Sam had just finished yet another walk through of the house.

"Not even my mom?" Sam asked joining her on the steps

"No." Missouri said sadly, indicating that Rian should join them

"What happened?" Sam asked

"Their mom's spirit and the poltergeists' energy, they canceled each other out." Missouri explained to Sam "Your mom destroyed herself going after the thing."

"Why would she do something like that?" Sam asked

"Well, to protect her boys, of course." Missouri paused for a second "Sam, I'm sorry."

"For what?" Sam asked, looking at Missouri in confusion

"You sensed it was here, didn't you? Even when I couldn't." Missouri explained the reason for her apology

"What's happening to me?" Sam asked looking between Missouri and Rian

Rian felt guilty because she knew what was happening but she had no idea how to help. She was nothing special, no magical abilities, and no real abilities. All she had was her foreknowledge and even that wasn't very helpful.

"I know I should have all the answers," Missouri said, standing up "but I don't know."

"Sam, Rian, you ready?" Dean asked as Sam and Rian stood up. Rian helped Missouri down the rest of the steps.

"Bye." Sam said, giving Missouri a quick hug

"Bye Sam." Missouri replied, grateful for the hug, "Don't you guys be strangers."

"We won't." Rian assured, "Or at least I won't."

"See you around." Dean added before the three of them got into the impala.

After a few blocks of driving Rian remembered an idea that she had had the previous night. She knew that John Winchester would be showing up at Missouri's soon and Rian needed to talk to him. She needed to see if he could help her find a way home.

"Shit." Rian said, startling the boys

"What?" Sam asked, turning to look at Rian, who was staring at him with wide eyes.

"I need to go the Missouri's" Rian said "Alone, I forgot to ask her something."

"Can't you just call her?" Dean wanted to know

"I need to talk to her, she could help me find some answers as to why I'm here." Rian explained, "That's not exactly something you talk about over the phone, is it?"

"But why alone then, we could help?" Sam offered in his gentlemanly manner

"Because, Sammy," Rian smirked as his nose crinkled in disgust, "a girl has secrets. Please it will only take ten minutes tops."

Dean sighed and quickly pulled an illegal U-turn heading back to Missouri's place.

"You have ten minutes and then we're leaving your ass here." Dean grumbled.

"Then I'll just make my way to Bobby's and hope that he doesn't shoot me when I tell him my story." Rian said, leaving both the brothers in shock. Neither of them had mentioned Bobby before and Rian hadn't brought him up. They hadn't realized that she would know who Bobby was.

Rian quickly walked inside and found that she was a lot less nervous than she had thought she would be. She had a task at hand and she needed to accomplish it and she could freak out later.

"John Winchester, I could just slap you." Rian heard when she shut the door softly behind her. "Why don't you go talk to your children?"

"God, I want to." John Winchester groaned "You have no idea how much I want to see them.

But I can't. Not yet. Not until I know the truth."

Rian cleared her throat and both John and Missouri turn to look at her startled. John was immediately on high alert. If he needed to flee he was ready to do it.

"Sorry to interrupt," She said quickly, "But John I need your help."


	5. Dean Winchester is a Jerk

**Salvation: Part One**

" _Sorry to interrupt," She said quickly, "But John I need your help."_

"Who are you?" John asked, his stance looked relaxed but after six weeks with the man's sons Rian knew better than to think he was any bit as relaxed as he looked.

"She's Rian," Missouri explained, "She's been travelling with your boys."

Missouri motioned for Rian to take a seat and she complied, knowing that she would be less threatening to John if she was sitting down.

"Please John, I know you have a lot on your plate," Rian pleaded, "but I just need your help."

"Why mine?" John asked, "Why not Sam and Dean, since you're travelling with them?"

"Because, they're good at what they do, but they're no John Winchester." Rian explained, "and besides, I trust you."

"Why do you trust me?" John asked with narrowed eyes.

"You wouldn't believe me," Rian practically challenged with a shrug.

"Try me." John said, accepting the challenge.

So Rian told them. She told the two about how she'd met Sam and Dean those six weeks ago. She told them about the television show, Supernatural. About Mary's death, about John's fight with Bobby. About John leaving Dean behind so that John could find the thing that killed Mary. About Sam going to Stanford and then he subsequent events.

"If you know so much then you should know what killed Mary." John said at last. He hadn't interrupted through the entire story and Rian was surprised. She had expected him to react more like Dean, throwing her against the wall, then Sam, who had just accepted the story with no small amount of questions.

"I can give you a name." Rian offered, "But that's it. You have to understand that I don't know everything, only what I've seen on the TV. And even then some of it has been inaccurate."

"What's the name?" John asked after a moment of contemplation.

"Azazel." Rian said, "That's the name of the demon that killed Mary."

John processed the information he had just been given for a moment. While he did that Rian hoped she hadn't just screwed up royally.

"Okay, what do you need my help with?" John asked

"It's simple really." Rian said, "I just need you to keep your eye open for anything that is powerful enough to pull people through to an alternate universe."

"And you just expect me to let you travel with Dean and Sam? How do I know you're not a demon yourself?" John looked calm but Rian could see the hardness in his eyes, it scared her a little "Give me something that makes me believe you."

"I've done all the tests," Rian said, when that didn't work she let out a sigh, "do you really think your sons are stupid enough to not check everything, John? Do you really think they'd let me travel with them if they had any reason to suspect that I was a demon or any of the other monsters that they hunt?"

"No, I suppose not." John admitted, "Anything else you want to tell me before I help you?"

"I know about Adam." Rian said. She watched as John tensed, "I know you don't like that John, but don't you think I would have done something about it if I had any malicious intent at all? I won't endanger your sons, John. Not any of them."

John nodded after a moment of contemplation, "Alright, give me your number and I'll contact you if I find anything. But you should know that this won't be on the forefront, Rian."

"I know, John." Rian said, handing John the paper with her number on it, "And thank you. I'll let you know how the boys are doing from time to time."

"Thank you." John said, clapping Rian on the shoulder as she exited the room.

* * *

Three months. Rian had gone three months with no news from John. Well, not no news, just nothing that was going to help her get home. She'd been doing her own research on the issue but she hadn't made any progress either.

In the last three months the Winchesters and Co. had done several cases that Rian knew and several more that she didn't. On the ones she knew Rian had given the brothers what information she could. On those cases she had even been allowed out of the motel when she had promised to only do so when she knew for sure that it was safe.

On the cases that she didn't know Rian was confined to the motel. She didn't necessarily hate those times, but one evening Rian had made a list of 732 things she would rather have been doing. One item on that list was fishing dead rats out of sewer pipes.

Rian was going through the journal she had forced Sam to buy for her a couple of weeks ago. In the journal she kept a record of the cases that they had been on and what had been different from what she knew.

For instance, Dean was not as obsessed with pie as the show had made him out to be. Sure, Dean appreciated a good pie, but he did not, in fact, have it with every meal. He didn't even have pie every week. When Rian had questioned him about it Dean had just shrugged, saying that he appreciated good food.

After one particularly brutal case Rian had entertained the boys with the titles that the writers had given the cases. She'd written down the one's she had remembered and after that, whenever a case finished, she and the brothers would distract themselves by thinking up a name for the case.

In May they'd been on a hunt that involved a Vampire, a Werewolf, and a Witch. Dean had suggested the name _The terrific trio,_ and the name had stuck. Rian still preferred the name _A terrible joke_ but both of the brother had vetoed it.

In the past few months Dean had definitely been a lot more friendly towards Rian. Not to say that he trusted her completely but he didn't chew her head off everyday and they even managed to have civil conversations when Sam was out.

When Dean discovered that Rian like modern music and classic rock they had had a three hour debate on what makes a song good. There had been no fighting that night and Dean had even let Rian take the bed, something he never did if he could help it.

One thing Rian had gotten good at was first aid. She'd learned how to clean up wounds, stitch them, and then bandage them with minimal pain for the person who was injured. On one case when Sam's elbow had been popped out of it's socket she had helped Dean pop it back in.

"What day is it?" Rian asked, finally realizing something that had been bothering her.

"Monday." Dean answered, he was sitting in the passenger seat, having let Sam drive so that he could get a little sleep.

"Thanks." Rian said sarcastically, "What I meant to ask was what is today's date? And if you could tack on the month that would be appreciated."

One thing Rian noticed when she was on the road was that she stopped paying attention to dates. She started thinking of things in terms of cases.

"June third." Dean finally told her, "why?"

"I missed my birthday." Rian explained, "by a month."

"How do you miss your own birthday?" Dean asked with a snort.

"It's not like we haven't been busy." Rian quipped, "I mean, you nearly died, then we got to meet your ex, then you two met Max while I had the stomach flu, then Sam got kidnapped and you wouldn't talk to me for three days, as if it was my fault that happened, then we went to Chicago. I mean, we totally haven't been busy lately."

"Yeah, whatever." Dean grumbled, "When was your birthday anyways?"

"May first." Rian told him, "I'm twenty-three"

Dean turned to Sam with a mischievous grin, "She's older than you." He teased.

"You're point?" Sam asked with a grin of his own.

"I am?" Rian asked, looking between the boys.

"Yeah, Sam was born May second. He turned twenty three this year too." Dean explained, looking back at Rian, "Which makes you older."

"Technically I was born in 1992." Rian said, "Which makes Sam older."

"Then how are you twenty three?" Dean asked, "Are you that bad at math?"

Rian rolled her eyes, used to the elder Winchester brother's insults.

"No, idiot, it was December 2014 when I jumped universes." Rian explained, "which means I'm twenty three now."

"Wait," Dean ordered, "You're telling me you're from 2014?"

"Yeah." Rian said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "have I not mentioned that before?"

"Not really." Dean said, his voice squeaky.

"Huh," Rian said, "Oops?"

* * *

In early July the brothers finally got the chance to be with their absent father again. The brothers were working a hunt in Manning, Colorado. A hunter their dad knew, Daniel Elkins, had been killed by vampires and the brothers had gone to check it out.

Their hunt had led them to a post office where Elkins had left a letter for their dad with told him about the colt. It was upon finding the letter that the brothers had found their dad.

Who Rian had forgot to tell not to talk about her.

His asking after Rian had led to a huge fight between Rian and the brothers which was how Rian had found herself sharing a motel room with none other than John Winchester. The three hunters had finished the hunt earlier that night.

From what John had told Rian it had been a lot more eventful than she remembered. Which wasn't surprising, considering she didn't remember that many specifics. Especially of the hunts that fell into the first season. She hadn't watched the first season in a few years before she'd crossed universes.

"No offense to you, John," Rian said over their dinner, "but your sons are idiots."

"Yeah, I don't really take offense to that." John said, making Rian laugh, "What makes them idiots this time?"

Over the last three months, despite the lack of information on how to get Rian back home, she and John had talked a lot. John had come to understand that Rian was willing to help when she could but there were something's she just couldn't change. And other things she couldn't remember.

Rian had told John about the Colt about two weeks after the case in Lawrence but she hadn't been able to remember when or how they got it.

When the two talked Rian would complain about something Dean or Sam had done and John would either tell her to suck it up or how to deal with it. Rian had even gotten comfortable enough with John to explain to him that when she had been watching the show she'd thought John was a terrible father. Now, however, she knew that John was trying his best with the shit hand he'd been dealt in life.

"This stupid fight." Rian explained, "neither of them is even trying to understand why I didn't tell them where you were."

"It's not like I ever told you my exact location," John pointed out after taking a drink of his beer.

"I know!" Rian exclaimed, "I've explained that, and the whole butterfly effect thing, and the fact that I'm actually allowed to have friends. Even if my friend is their dad."

John chuckled before offering, "They'd probably understand if you just smacked them."

"Don't you tempt me, John Winchester," Rian warned, brandishing her fork at the Winchester father, "I am totally willing to do that."

"I don't doubt that." John said with another chuckle, "now why don't you get some sleep, kiddo."

"I'm not a kiddo," Rian protested, but she got up to follow John's advice anyways.

* * *

The next day the boys still weren't talking to Rian. Instead of being stuck in solitude with them Rian decided to ride with the eldest Winchester. John told stories about his sons and Rian told stories about her step-siblings. They stopped for lunch at a diner which consisted of Sam and Dean talking to John and ignoring Rian.

Rian tried to shrug it off. She tried to pretend she was used to it. Dean had given her enough silent treatments over the four and a half months she had known him. But Sam never had. Sam had always been the understanding one.

She worries about whether or not the brothers would forgive her. When she expressed her concerns to John he had just laughed, telling her that they would. Maybe not right then but they would.

They stopped that night at a run down motel and Rian found herself rooming the John again. The brothers were still not talking to her and Rian was getting to the point where she didn't care anymore.

"You think I should go over there and talk to them?" Rian asked. She and John had been working on research in silence for the last twenty minutes.

"It couldn't hurt to try," John said with a shrug, "just remember to block the door so that they can't storm out."

"Thanks John." Rian said with a small smile.

"No problem, kiddo." John said as Rian left the room.

She stood outside the room that the brothers shared for nearly five minutes before she gathered the courage to knock. She almost gave up on getting an answer when Dean threw the door open violently.

"What do you want?" Dean growled.

"My friends back," Rian said, knowing Sam was listening, "I'm sure they're in there under this 'I'm going to take all my anger out on Rian' attitude you two have going on."

"Friends don't lie to each other." Dean pointed out harshly.

"What should I have done?" Rian asked. She continued in a voice that was slightly higher pitched than normal, "hey, Sam, Dean, by the way I've been talking to your dad. He asked me not to tell you what I knew because he was trying to protect you. But yeah, we've been talking."

"That might have been nice, yeah." Dean grumbled.

"Well too bad." Rian said angrily, "we had a deal and those were the conditions."

"When did you two even make the deal," Sam asked, ever the voice of reason. Even if this voice was cold and detached.

Rian mumbled her answer.

"What?" Dean said

"Lawrence," Rian nearly yelled, starling a crow that had landed nearby.

The brothers were silent for a moment, processing what Rian said.

"Lawrence," Dean repeated. Rian was suddenly pulled into the room and shoved against the wall.

"Dean," Sam warned but Dean didn't listen.

"You knew our dad was in Lawrence and it didn't even cross your mind to tell us?" Dean growled.

Rian watched Dean wide eyed. This was the first time he had been physically violent with her since Aberdeen. She was about to answer when the cause of the argument walked into the room.

"Let her go, Dean." John Winchester ordered harshly.

Dean obeyed immediately, though he was still glaring at Rian. Being the mature and fearless adult that she was Rian hid behind John. She didn't look at anyone in the room, not wanting them to see that she was crying.

"Dad," Dean started but John raised a hand to stop him. Rian now knew why he always stopped talking when she did the same thing.

"Just leave her alone." John told his sons, "I asked her not to tell you and she listened. If anyone's at fault it's me. I'm sorry."

Everyone looked at John in shock, not expecting that from him.

Using the shock as a chance Rian quickly shot out of the room. She was in her and John's shared room in moments and had thrown herself on the bed.

Rian didn't move when the door opened and then closed a few minutes later. She sniffled and wiped her nose on her arm, ignoring the person who had just walked in. Rian was not in the mood to talk to anyone and she hoped John would understand.

"I'm sorry," Sam apologized and Rian sat up as fast as she could, not expecting either of the siblings to be in her room.

"It's fine," Rian mumbled, throwing herself back onto the bed and turning away from Sam.

"No, it's not" Sam disagreed adamantly, "I've been an idiot. I keep on taking my cues from Dean even when I know they're wrong. You told me there were times that you couldn't tell us things. I figured where Dad was one of those thing. I just wasn't expecting you to be communicating with him. I over reacted."

"It's fine, Sam," Rian repeated, "I understand."

"We good?" Sam asked hopefully.

Rian turned to regard Sam carefully. She saw the puppy dog eyes that he was giving her and inwardly cringed. She couldn't stay mad at Sam, not with that look.

"We're good," Rian offered finally with a sniffle, "the next time you ignore me like this I'm kicking your ass straight to hell."

"I believe it," Sam said before making himself at home on John's bed, "and Rian, I really am sorry."

"It's okay, Sam." Rian assured him, "it sucks, but it's okay."

* * *

Sam and Rian were left alone while John and Dean went to the library to do some research. Rian had offered to go but Sam had held her back, saying that Dean on John needed some time together. Rian conceded and the two had been in John and Rian's room doing their own research since then.

"What do you have, Fin?" Sam asked when Rian let out a gasp, she turned to glare at him for using that nickname. Rian regretted telling the boys her full name as soon as Dean had called her Fin that first time three months ago.

"Not much," Rian told Sam with a groan, "just a few demon sightings, I'm sure John and Dean will have more."

Right on cue John and Dean Winchester entered the room. Dean immediately made for the mini-fridge but was intercepted by Rian. He made to push past her but Rian just shook her head and pointed to the couch.

"This is too serious for a drink, Dean." Rian scolded, "you should know that."

"You're not in charge." Dean protested harshly.

"Yeah well, until you stop acting like an idiot you're not allowed near the beer." Rian told him, "now go sit down."

Dean looked to John and Sam for help but when neither of them even acknowledged him he went to the couch with a huff. John clapped Rian on the shoulder when he passed her on the way to the table.

Rian took a seat at the table and she and Sam poured over the documents that John and Dean had printed.

"So, this is it?" Sam asked sometime later when he had finished reading the last page. Rian had finished a few minutes before him, but was waiting for him to be done before she did anything.

"This is everything I know." John told them, "Look, our whole lives we've been searching for this demon right? Not a trace. Just nothing. Until about a year ago. For the first time I picked up a trail."

"That's when you took off," Dean said, the first time he'd spoken since he'd been banished to the couch.

"Yeah" John agreed, only Rian caught the hint of regret in his voice under the gruff demeanor, "The demon must have come out of hiding or hibernation."

"Alright, so what's this trail you've found?" Rian asked, looking up at John

"Starts in Arizona. Then New Jersey, California. House is burned down to the ground. It's going after families. Just like it went after us." John explained.

"A pattern, huh?" Rian mused.

She, of course, knew that what they were hunting was Azazel. She had told John all she could remember about the demon but it hadn't been enough for John to go on. Rian went to John with information she remembered as soon as she remembered it.

"Families with infants?" Sam asked, identifying the pattern.

"Yeah. The night of the kid's six month birthday." John told him

"I was six months old that night?" Sam asked cautiously

"Exactly six months." John confirmed

"So, basically this demon is going after these kids for some reason." Sam reasoned out, "Same way it came for me. So, mom's death? Jessica, it's all because of me?"

"We don't know that Sam." Dean said

"Oh, really? Cause I say we're pretty damn sure Dean." Sam argued

"For the last time." Rian interrupted, "What happened to them is not your fault."

"Yeah, you're right." Sam said, beginning to shout "It's not my fault. But it's my problem."

"No, it's not your problem." Rian said just as loud as Sam had been, "Sam you're not the only one involved. It's our problem."

"It's not your problem." Dean said coldly, "This doesn't involve you, Rian."

"Okay." John said quietly before Rian had the chance to respond. He was glaring at Dean, "That's enough."

"So, why is it doing it?" Sam asked after a moment "What does it want?"

"I wish I had more answers." John said calmly "I do. I've always been one step behind it.

Look I've never got there in time to save…" John trailed off.

"So how do we find it? Before it hits again?" Dean asked after he was sure that John wasn't going to continue.

"There're signs." John explained, "Look, it took me a while to see the patterns but days before these fires signs crop up in an area. Cattle deaths, temperature fluctuations, electrical storms.

And then we backed and checked"

"These things happened in Lawrence?" Dean asked

"A week before your mother died. And in Palo Alto. Before Jessica. And these signs they're starting again."

"Where?" Rian asked, leaning forward earnestly. She'd decided that if Dean couldn't be civil then she didn't have to be civil back.

"Salvation, Iowa." John told them.

Rian rode with John again. She was back in good graces with Sam but Dean wouldn't even look at her. The two made the drive in silence. Rian had tried to turn the radio on but John had stopped her.

Rian had been expecting him to talk but the question he asked was not what he expected from the man.

"Is there anything going on between you and Sammy?" John asked after fifteen minutes of silence.

"What do you mean?" Rian asked looking over at John in confusion.

John chuckled, Rian found that she liked the sound, it was fatherly in a way. "before I even finished lecturing the boys he was out the door."

"Your point?" Rian asked, "I mean, I'm closer to Sam then I am to Dean, but John, I just want to go home. Nothing can happen even if there was anything between us."

John was about to speak when his phone rang. He picked it up from the console and answered, his voice a lot gruffer than it had been when he was talking to Rian.

Rian gripped the side of John's truck as he quickly pulled off the road. She was silent as he stormed out of the truck and started throwing expletives into the air. Rian was almost afraid to exit the truck but when the impala pulled up behind them she decided it was probably a good idea to do so.

"What is it?" Dean asked, not even acknowledging Rian. Well, two could play at that game.

"Son of a bitch!" John yelled instead of responding

"What is it?" Dean repeated, a little louder

"I just got a call from Caleb." John explained angrily

"Is he okay?" Dean asked

"He's fine." John replied, he turned to kick the wheel of the truck but Rian stopped him with a hand on his arm. John turned to the brothers, a little calmer. "Jim Murphy's dead."

"Pastor Jim? How?" Sam questioned, looking between John and Rian curiously, noticing how easy it was for Rian to calm John down.

"Throat was slashed." John grimaced "He bled out. Caleb said they found traces of sulfur at Jim's place."

"A Demon?" Dean asked, John nodded "The Demon?"

"I don't know. Could be." John replied "He just got... He got careless he slipped up."

"Maybe the Demon knows we're getting close." Rian offered

"What do you want to do?" Dean asked his father, ignoring Rian.

"Now we act like every second counts." John told the three "there's two hospitals and a health center in this County. We split up, we cover more ground. I want records. I want a list of every infant who's gonna be six months old in the next week."

"Dad that can be dozens of kids." Sam expressed "How the hell are we gonna know which ones the right one?"

"We check them all. That's how." John explained "You got any better ideas?"

"No, sir." Sam saluted, opening the door to the impala and he paused before getting in. "talk to you later Rian."

Rian nodded and walked over to John's truck. She was not willing to spend the next how ever long this was going to take cooped up with Dean Winchester. Sam knew that and respected it. It seemed, however, that John Winchester himself had other ideas.

"Rian, you're gonna help the boys." John told her gently. Rian turned around to protest but at the look in his eyes, the pleading that he was unable to vocalize, Rian nodded and walked over to the impala, ignoring Dean's protests.

Rian didn't hear what Dean said but John's reply was very clear. This war was ending soon and there was nothing that could stop John Winchester from succeeding.

"Yeah. It's Jim. You know, I can't this ends, now. I'm ending it." John started walking towards his car "I don't care what it takes."

* * *

"And what about me?" Rian asked, "what am I supposed to do?"

Dean glared at her, the first time he had actually acknowledged her since they arrived at the motel hours ago. The boys had gone right to bed while Rian had stayed up going over everything she remembered.

Which honestly wasn't much. She remembered a car crash and Dean almost dying but she could not, for the life of her, remember how he survived. Another thing she remembered was John dying. The thought made her sick. In the past few months John had been a friend to her when his sons had not.

To say that had shocked Rian would be an understatement. Back in her own universe Rian had thought that John Winchester was a terrible father. She herself did not have that close of a relationship with her own dad. Something she regretted in the two years after the passing of her parents.

They had been on the way to a dinner for Rian's birthday. She had requested that it was just her and her parents. Rian had been missing them while she was at college. She was planning to announce her acceptance into the forensics program at the University of Washington. She wanted to tell them in person and her birthday was the only chance to do that.

It had been two separate accidents. Her dad had been driving up from Portland when a drunk driver had crossed the medium and cause a fifteen car pile-up. Rian's dad had died on impact. She didn't find out for three days. Rian had just thought that he forgot. He had been like that, forgetful.

Rian's mom had hit a stray patch of ice driving up from Aberdeen and the car had flipped. She was pronounced dead at the hospital. That was the accident Rian had heard of first. She'd driven right to Providence, which was where they had taken her mom, and had gotten there just in time to identify the body.

She still got nightmares from that.

"You're going to stay here." Dean told her, breaking Rian out of her dangerous thoughts of home.

"And why is that?" Rian questioned, giving Dean her best glare.

The elder Winchester, however, was not backing down.

"Because I don't trust you and I'm not going to work with someone that I don't trust." Dean told her harshly.

"Fine, have it your way." Rian said with a smirk that confused both of the brothers. "We'll simply be strangers who are happening to work the same case."

"That's not what I-" Dean started to protest but Rian was already out the door.


	6. And He Gets Worse

**Salvation: Part Two**

Rian would never, ever, tell the boys that the moment she was in her own room she broke down. The moment would remain a secret of hers until the grave. She could not let Dean Winchester know how much stock she took in what he said.

After her breakdown she had called John and told him what happened. He'd told her one of the hospitals to check out and Rian had gone on her own. She was nervous the entire time but she'd managed to finish her questioning without giving herself away.

The first time that Rian had done even part of an inquiry on her own had been a success.

 _Take that Dean._

The thought of Dean sobered Rian right up.

She was walking back to the motel and had only recently noticed how lost she was. She must have taken a wrong turn shortly after leaving the hospital because she was definitely nowhere near downtown, where the motel was.

"Hi. Here, let me hold that." Sam's voice grabbed Rian's attention and she let out a sigh of relief. "I don't think you need that anymore."

Rian looked down the block to see Sam hold a stroller for a young mother as she let down her umbrella. It had stopped raining a while ago and Rian wondered what had been on her mind that she hadn't noticed sooner.

"She's gorgeous, is she yours?" Sam asked looking down at the baby in awe.

"Yeah." The woman replied, taking the stroller back from Sam

"Oh, wow. Hi." Sam gushed.

"Sam," Rian called, running up to Sam, "I'm so glad I found you I cannot find my way around this place."

"Rian," Sam said, looking gave Sam a pleading look, urging him to play along. He gave her a nearly imperceptible nod and Rian turned to her with an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry," Rian apologized, holding out a hand, "I'm Rian, this is Sam. We just moved in up the block."

"Oh, hey. I'm Monica." Monica greeted, "This is Rosy"

"Rosy?" Sam asked looking down at the child again, Rian noticed his shoulders droop a little and assumed he was thinking of the life he had planned out with Jessica

"Yeah." Monica agreed "So, welcome to the neighborhood."

"Thank you." Sam nodded

"She's such a good baby." Rian remarked, stepping a little closer to Sam who gave her a weird look that she couldn't quite interpret.

"I know, she I mean, she never cries." Monica told the two of them "She just stares at everybody.

Sometimes she looks at you and I swear it's like she's reading your mind."

"What about you Monica? Have you lived here long?" Rian asked

"Oh, my husband and I we bought this place just before Rosy was born." Monica told them

"How old is Rosy?" Sam asked, smiling sweetly.

"She's six months today." Monica said proudly "she's big right? Growing like a weed."

"Yeah." Rian agreed, not really paying attention anymore. She knew what Sam was thinking and exchanged a look with him.

"Monica Yeah? Just uh just take care of yourself, okay?" Sam urged

"Yeah, you too Sam, Rian" Monica smiled

"We'll see you around." Rian promised, though she hoped it wasn't in the way she was thinking.

"Yeah." Monica agreed.

The two walked a ways away from Monica before Sam turned to Rian with a questioning look.

"I got lost," Rian explained with a blush, "and then I saw you and couldn't help it. I figured you wouldn't mind, considering the one I'm currently fighting with is Dean."

"Sorry about him," Sam apologized for Dean. Rian shook her head.

"Don't apologize for him, Sam," Rian practically ordered, "Dean's a big boy and if he wants to apologize he'll do it on his own. Until then my plan is to treat him how he treats me."

The two walked the entire way back to the motel in silence. Rian decided to wait in Sam and Dean's room, not really in the mood to be alone. She'd booked her own room last night and had spent the entire night tossing and turning. She would freak at every creak and in the dead of the night Rian had been positive that every shadow was out to get her.

"You okay?" Rian asked, noticing that Sam was brooding.

"I don't know, Rian." Sam told her honestly, "This is all just so weird."

"I get that, I get that." Rian said gently, "I mean, I've seen this all happen before and now I'm living it. This is all weird as fuck."

"Sometimes I forget that you're not from here," Sam said after a moment of silence, Rian looked over to see that he was watching her intently, "I don't know, it just kind of feels like you're supposed to be here."

"I'm sure Dean doesn't think that." Rian said,

"Dean's an idiot." Sam pointed out with a shrug.

As if Sam had summoned Dean the man himself walked into the room followed closely by John. The eldest Winchester nearly ran into his son when Dean stopped at the sight of Rian on his bed.

"What happened to being strangers?" Dean asked, glaring at Rian.

Rian stood with a small smile and walked over to stand in front of Dean. She stuck her hand out at him before speaking, "Hi, my name is Rian Fitzgerald. I met your brother a few months ago. I've heard a lot about you since then. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

Dean looked between Rian and Sam in confusion before pushing past Rian turned to watch him with a glare.

"Or you know, not." Rian grumbled, earning a chuckle from Sam.

"Okay, so I had a vision." Sam said once everyone was situated. Dean was on his bed, Sam on his own, and John and Rian were sitting at the table.

"A vision?" John asked looking at Rian who shrugged apologetically.

"Sorry, I made a promise with Sam not to tell before our deal happened," Rian explained. John nodded, accepting that Rian wasn't one to go back on her word.

"Yes." Sam said, "I saw the Demon burning a woman on the ceiling."

"Right and you think this is gonna happen to this woman you met because" John trailed off

"Because these things happen exactly the way I see them." Sam explained

"He started them as nightmares and it started when he was awake." Dean said

"Yeah." Sam said "It's like I don't know, it's like the closer I get to anything involving the Demon the stronger the visions get."

"All right, when were you gonna tell me about this?" John asked, "I understand why Rian didn't tell me but when were my own son's gonna tell me something this important?"

"We didn't know what it meant." Dean explained. He was glaring at Rian who was pointedly looking anywhere but at him

"All right, something like this starts happening to your brother you pick up the phone and you call me." John demanded

"Call you? Are you kidding me?" Dean questioned "Dad, I called you from Lawrence. All right, Sam called you when I was dying. I mean, getting you on the phone I got a better chance winning the lottery. And that entire time you were talking to Rian and ignoring us. What makes her so important?"

Rian bristled at the outburst but a look from John held her back.

"You're right." John conceded after a moment of glaring at his sons "Although, I'm not crazy about this new tone of yours, you're right. I'm sorry. But don't you dare treat Rian like shit. She's got an entirely different situation of her own going on and you haven't even taken the time to try to help her."

Rian blushed at John's defense. She refused to look up at the three men in the room.

"What problem?" Dean asked. Rian's head shot up in shock. Had Dean really forgotten that she was from a different universe?

"She's trying to get home," John explained, "Back to her universe."

"You believe that crap?" Dean asked, shocked that his father would fall for such a lie.

"Four months and you still don't believe me?" Rian said quietly. She could feel her test tighten and tears threaten to fall but Rian refused to cry in front of Dean anymore, "four months of doing everything I possibly could to help your family while putting my own problem on the backburner and you haven't thought, for one moment, that maybe, just maybe, I wasn't lying."

Dean opened his mouth to argue but both Rian and John held up a hand at him. Rian continued, her voice deadly quiet.

"Do you understand how fucking terrified I've been, Dean? Terrified that every time I speak I'm going to say the wrong thing and get someone killed. Every time I know something I have to go through every possible event that could possibly transpire if I do anything about it." Rian watched Dean closely, her face blank, "every death that I've known about weighs on me like a ton of bricks, Dean. Did you think that I just didn't care? Every time I heard about a death that I had watched before, did you think that it didn't eat at me inside? And here you are, blaming me for things that I couldn't change. How would you like to be in my position? How would you like to be in a world where you don't know anyone but instead you know everything that is going to happen. If you were in my position would you have done anything differently?"

Dean said nothing, he only watched Rian with wide eyes.

"That's what I thought." Rian said, "when you're ready to actually treat me like a person, let me know and I'll consider returning the favor."

Rian jumped when Sam's phone rang, breaking her out of the trance that she had been in. She remembered every word she had said to Dean but it had felt like someone else was speaking.

"Hello?" a pause "Who is this" another pause "Meg?" Sam looked up at everyone in shock, "Last time I saw you, you fell out of a window." pause "Just your feelings? That was a seven story drop" pause, Sam looked at John, "My dad? I don't know where my dad is."

John reached for the phone and Sam handed it to him.

"This is John." pause "I'm here." pause "Caleb? Caleb? You listen to me He's got nothing to do with anything. You let him go" pause "I don't know what you're talking about." pause "Caleb? Caleb?" pause "I'm gonna kill you, you know that?"

John looked at the three other people in the room considering something.

"Okay." pause "I said okay. I'll bring you the Colt." pause "It's gonna take me about a day's drive to get there." pause "That's impossible. I can't get there in time and I can't just carry a gun on a plane." John hung up

"So you think Meg is a demon?" Sam asked accepting his phone back from John

"Either that or she's possessed by one." John said "it doesn't really matter."

"She's possessed," Rian said, her voice was back to normal and somehow she seemed lighter than she had before, "Meg is a demon that is possessing a girl named Meg."

"What do we do?" Dean asked, ignoring Rian as he was apt to do.

"I'm going to Lincoln." John decided, everyone looked at him

"What?" Dean asked, shocked

"Doesn't seem like I have a choice." John pointed out "If I don't go, a lot of people die. Our friends die."

"Dad, the Demon is coming tonight." Sam said "For Monica and her family that gun is all we've got. You can't just hand it over."

"Who said about handing it over?" John glared at his sons "Look, besides us and a couple of vampires no one's really seen the gun. No one knows what it looks like."

"So what? You're just gonna pick up a ringer in a pawn shop?" Dean asked

"Antique store." Rian said, "the best copy is at an antique store."

"What?" Dean asked suspiciously.

"Well, it's an antique gun, right?" Rian asked, Dean nodded, "hence the antique store."

Dean turned back to John, "You're gonna hand her a fake gun and hope she doesn't notice?"

"Look, as long as its close she shouldn't be able to tell the difference." John said

"Yeah, but for how long?" Dean asked, getting angry "What happens when she figures it out?"

"I just I just need to buy a few hours, that's all." John told them, already thinking up a plan

"You mean for Dean, Rian, and me?" Sam asked "You want us to stay here? And kill this Demon by ourselves."

"No, Sam." John said, pain etched into his face "I want to stop losing people we love. I want you to go to school I want I want Dean to have a home. I want Mary alive. It's just I just want this to be over."

It was too much for Rian. She got up and stalked out of the room. She had a mind to go to the room she had booked yesterday but she didn't want to be inside. Rian chose instead to hide behind the Impala.

She curled herself into a ball and let the tears fall. She didn't know what to do anymore. The crushing weight of John's impending death was suffocating. She was afraid she wouldn't be able to do anything and that when John died neither Sam nor Dean would want to talk to her again. Then she'd really be on her own and Rian was positive that she wouldn't be able to handle it.

When her parents had died a piece of Rian had died with them. She'd lost that little bit of herself that was able to connect with other people. When she was working she acted like she was still normal but when she was home she was completely detached.

The Winchesters had managed to revive that part of her, the part that really cared about others. And Rian was positive that she would lose more than that if John died.

Rian jumped when a hand landed on her shoulder. She started to hyperventilate until Sam crouched in front of her with worried eyes. He sat next to her and started rubbing circles into her back and all it did was make her cry harder.

Neither of them spoke until Rian's sobs had turned to sniffles. She turned to look at Sam for a moment before speaking.

"What do I do, Sam?" She asked , "I know so much but I don't know how to change anything."

"I don't know, Rian." Sam said sadly "I wish I could help you but I really don't know."

Rian stood and walked into her room. She knew they would be leaving soon. The more that happened the more Rian remembered. She wished she didn't know anything. She wished more than anything that she was still in her own world, working at the police station and looking up boring old statistics when people needed them.

She wished she was anywhere but where she was now.

There was a knock on the door and Rian opened it to reveal John Winchester. She gave him a watery smile and was surprised when John pulled her into a hug. She clutched at his waist and tried her hardest not to break down again. One Winchester seeing her like that was bad enough.

"I'm so tired, John." Rian told him when John let her go, "I just want to go home."

"It's alright, Fin." John said. Rian looked at him in shock.

"What did you just call me?" She asked with wide eyes.

"Fin?" John said cautiously, "Should I not have?"

"No, no," Rian grinned, "It's nice, I haven't had a nickname in awhile. How'd you know my name?"

"Missouri told me after you'd left." John explained, Rian nodded.

"Are we leaving soon?" Rian asked, she watched John cautiously when he tried to avoid the question, "John? What's going on?"

"Dean doesn't want you to come and I have to say I agree with him." John said gruffly. "It's too dangerous and you're untrained."

"You're asking me to stay behind while the three of you risk your lives?" Rian asked, John nodded.

"This isn't your fight and we don't intend to draw you into it more than we already have." John explained, his voice still gruff.

"I don't need you to protect me, y'know." Rian told him, "I'm actually perfectly capable of protecting myself and I am not going to sit here like some damsel in distress when there's the possibility of you guys not coming back."

"Fin-" John started, he tensed when Rian raised a hand at him, indicating that he should stop talking.

"No, John." Rian said adamantly, "I'm going and that's final. I'll stay in the car if that makes you feel better but I'm not staying behind."

"Fine, but you're going with Dean." John said and Rian nearly changed her mind right then.

* * *

The silence was thick and tense and Rian was afraid to even breathe too loudly. Dean was not happy that Rian had managed to tag along and even more so that she was stuck with him. He hadn't even looked her way since he'd glared at her after John was done explaining the plan.

Rian looked out the window listening to the last chords of ACDC's fade into the silence. When the next song didn't start Rian turned to see that Dean was glancing at her. They'd already gotten the fake colt and were on their way to meet up with Sam and John.

"What?" She demanded after the fifth such look.

"Nothing." Dean said, staring intently at the road.

"No, Dean," Rian said, "What is it. Obviously you want to say something just spit it out."

"I'm sorry," Dean spat after long enough that Rian was positive that he wasn't going to say anything.

"What?" Rian said, dumbstruck.

"You, Sam, and Dad are right." Dean said, shocking Rian again, "I've been an ass and I know you don't deserve it but I honestly don't know what else to do."

"How about not yelling at me every time I do something you dislike." Rian offered blandly, Dean winced.

"Yeah." Dean agreed.

"Dean, we were doing fine before John came back." Rian pointed out, "I'm not asking for us to be best friends, I'm just asking for a little bit of respect."

"Yeah, I think I can do that." Dean said with a small smile, "I can definitely do respect."

The two of them fell into a surprisingly comfortable silence.

* * *

When they made it to the meeting spot, which was on the side of the road of some obscure highway that no one ever used, Sam and John were already there.

They went over the rest of the plan again. Sam, Rian, and Dean were going to go wait outside Monica's house to make sure nothing happened and John was going to go give Meg the 'colt'.

Rian anxiously pulled John aside after the last of the details were hashed out so that she could warn him to be careful. She wasn't sure what was going to happen exactly but she had this feeling that it wasn't going to be pretty.

"Hey, John?" Rian said, getting the man's attention "please be safe, like extra careful."

John smiled at Rian and put his hands on her shoulders, "I'll try, Fin. Protect my boys for me, would ya?"

"I'll try," Rian promised before throwing her arms around John. Rian could feel the two brothers watching in shock but she didn't care.

The anxious silence in the impala was suffocating and Rian knew she had to break it before she started to panic.

"What?" She snapped the sixteenth time that one of the brothers had looked at her.

Dean cleared his throat, "Is there something going on between you and Dad?"

Rian's jaw dropped, "What the fuck. No, Dean he's like twice my age gross."

"Well it's just that he gave you a nickname, he doesn't give anyone nicknames." Sam said and Rian turned to him in shock.

"You thought there was something going on too?" Rian asked, pointing at the younger Winchester brother. "I can't believe this. Guys, he's the only father figure I've had since my dad…"

Rian trailed off unable to talk about her dad. She couldn't do that right now. There was too much going on and she could not afford to be distracted.

"Since your dad what?" Dean asked

Rian shook her head, "It's not important. I can tell you guys later but we need to be focused right now."

"Alright, Fin." Dean teased and Rian couldn't help but grin.

* * *

"Maybe we can tell them there's a gas leak." Sam suggested after a few minutes of silence "Might get them out of the house for a few hours."

The three of them were figuring out how they were going to keep the family inside safe from whatever it was that was trying to hurt them.

"How many times did that work for us?" Dean asked with a sardonic laugh

"Yeah." Sam replied with a sigh.

They were silent for a moment

"Could always tell them the truth." Rian suggested, they all kind of laughed, "Nah I know. I know, I know, I just… What's to become of these people?"

"Fin, we only got one move and you know it, all right?" Dean said seriously "We got to wait for that Demon to show itself and then we get it before it gets them."

"I wonder what dad's doing." Sam said a few minutes later

"I would feel a lot better if we were there backing him up." Dean said

"I would feel a lot better if he was here backing us up." Rian countered, no one spoke after that.

They were all thinking of the situation they were in. Dean and Rian were worrying about John and Sam was watching the house, waiting for any sign that the demon was there.

"This is what we have." Sam said after a few minutes of silence.

"What?" Dean asked, looking over at Sam.

"After all those years we're finally here" Sam explained "It doesn't seem real."

"We just got to keep our heads and do our job like always." Dean said

"Yeah, but this isn't like always." Sam told him

"True." Dean agreed

"Dean, Rian, uh I want to thank you." Sam said a little bit later

"For what?" Dean asked

"For everything." Sam explained "You've always had my back you know, understood me when I didn't understand myself. Even when I can't count on anyone I could always count on you guys. And now I don't know, I just want to let you know. Just in case."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Are you kidding me? What? Don't say just in case something happens to you." Dean practically yelled "I don't want to hear that freaking speech man. Nobody is dying tonight. Not us, not that family, nobody."

"Except that Demon." Rian said harshly, the boys looked at her and nodded slowly

"That evil son of a bitch ain't getting any older than tonight." Dean agreed

They started talking about little things after that, like favorite foods, and favorite songs. Sam liked research and law books, Dean liked westerns, and Rian liked mysteries and fantasies. They started arguing about music when the wind picked up. Rian looked at the house

"Yeah, well-" Dean said, starting something about ACDC. A band that Rian could recognize and enjoyed but didn't understand Dean's obsession with.

"Dean, wait." Sam demanded "Listen."

"It's coming." Rian said, throwing the door open. The brothers didn't have time to protest as Rian ran up to the house. She was surprised to find the door unlocked. She ran in and the brothers were right behind her.

"Damn it." Dean yelled running into the house, "Rian get your ass outside."

"Get out of my house! Get out of my house!" A man yelled when he saw the three strangers standing there.

"Mr. Hold, please." Sam says trying to stop the man "Be quiet and listen to me."

"We are trying to help you." Rian said, "Charlie your wife and son are in danger."

She didn't know how she remembered the guys name but Monica confirmed it when she yelled down the stairs.

"Charlie?" They heard Monica yell "Everything okay down there?"

"Monica, get the baby!" Charlie yelled, Sam and Dean made their way upstairs. Rian stayed with a protesting Charlie "Don't go over there! You stay away from her!"

"Charlie I need you to shut up." Rian ordered, thankfully Charlie listened, "We're here to help and if you don't let us terrible things are going to happen, do you understand?"

Charlie nodded.

"Good, now go outside and wait for us. We will save your wife and daughter. I swear we will, but I need you to go outside." Charlie hesitated. "Go!" Rian yelled, Charlie ran outside and Rian turned and followed the brothers up the stairs.

"Where the hell did it go?" Dean asked.

Rian ran into the room to see that Azazel had already gone. She quickly ran to the crib, knowing that they were still in danger. She could smell the smoke from the fire that Azazel had started.

"My baby!" Monica yelled. Sam grabbed her when he saw Rian pick up Rose, "No, hey wait." Monica yells

"Get her out of here, I got it." Rian ordered, she could feel the heat of the fire, even though she couldn't see the source.

"Come on." Dean yelled pushing Sam and Monica out the door

"My baby!" Monica protested

"Rian's got her." Sam assured, forcing Monica down the stairs.

"You get away from my family!" Charlie yelled when they got outside.

"Charlie, don't." Monica said when Rian handed Rose to her. "They saved us. They saved us Thank you."

"It's still in there." Sam said turning back to the burning house

"Sam, Sam." Dean said grabbing Sam and forcing him to stand still

"No! Dean, let me go." Sam yelled, trying to push past Dean "It's still in there!"

"It's burning to the ground." Dean yelled, frightened. "It's suicide!"

"I don't care!" Sam protested angrily

"I do!" Dean yelled back. "You're not going in there. Sammy."

Sam finally stopped. He sagged against Dean who helped him to the ground. Rian watched them with trepidation, worried that either one of them would change their minds and try to run into the burning house.

* * *

The three of them were by the Impala, the fire was being taken care of and Monica and her family had been saved from a terrible fate. Sam was trying to reach John but his father was not picking up. Rian was pacing in front of the brothers, trying to expel her nerves.

"Come on, dad." Sam said glaring at the phone in his hand, "Answer your phone, damn it!"

"Something's wrong." Dean said, Sam didn't respond right away,"You hear me? Something's happened."

"If you had just let me go in there I could have ended all this." Sam yelled at Dean

"Sam The only thing you would end was your life." Rian said, tears threatening to fall. She stopped pacing and turned to glare at Sam.

"You don't know that." Sam argued vehemently.

"So what? You're willing to sacrifice yourself?" Dean said, somewhat shocked "Is that it?"

"Yeah." Sam told them "Yeah, you're damn right I am."

"Yeah, well that's not gonna happen." Dean argued "Not as long as I'm around."

"What the hell are you talking about Dean?" Sam almost whined "We've been searching for this Demon our whole lives. It's the only thing we've ever cared about."

"Sam, I want to waste it." Dean said "I do, okay? But it's not worth dying over?"

"What?" Sam asked, shocked

"I mean it." Dean said "If hunting this Demon means you getting yourself I hope we never find the damn thing."

"That thing killed Jess." Sam said "That thing killed mom."

"You said yourself once." Dean pointed out "That no matter what we do they're gone and they're never coming back."

"Don't just say that! Don't you!" Sam yelled again "after all this, don't you say that."

"Sam, look." Dean pleaded, rubbing the back of his neck, "The three of us that's all we have.

It's all I have. Sometimes I feel like I'm barely holding it together, man. Without you and dad..."

"Dad," Sam interrupted, "He should have called by now."

"Try again." Dean said. Before Sam got the chance the phone rang, making them jump.

" _You boys really screwed up this time."_ Meg said when Sam answers the phone. He had it on speaker phone so that the three could hear.

"Where is he?" Dean growled.

"You're never gonna see your father again." Meg taunted, the line went dead.

"No." Rian whispered, stepping back, "No, no, no, no, no."

Dean turned on Rian angrily. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes but that didn't stop him from yelling.

"You knew this would happen." Dean said, his voice cold "You knew that this was going to happen and you never told us? Didn't once think to warn us about this? What the hell Rian."

Rian wanted to protest but didn't know how. She didn't know if John was still alive. She thought he was, she was almost positive that he was. But Rian was not going to give the brothers false assurances. For all she knew, just by Rian being there, the timeline could have changed enough that John was dead.

"Dean," Sam warned looking from Rian to Dean

"No." Dean said quietly, "Get out of here Rian. Take your things and leave. If I can't trust you to tell us important things then you can't be a part of this hunt. Go."

"Dean!" Sam yelled, "Where's she going to go? You know her story, she has no one here. She was crying about this earlier today. She doesn't know how to handle this, you can't just send her away."

"Yes I can," Dean said, his voice like ice, "and I will. If I see her again I'm going to kill her."

Rian nodded, taking the warning for what it was. She quickly grabbed her things from the impala. Before she left she turned to the boys.

"I'm sorry," She choked out "I'm sorry"

Rian turned and left the Winchesters standing behind her.

* * *

A/N: I have midterms coming up so I won't be posting for awhile. I have the next five chapters finished though so I'll post when I can. My other stories seem to be affected more than this one though, so if you have only read this one then you have nothing to worry about except that you're missing out on some terribly written OC fics.

-Ryn


	7. Demons and Similar Things

**Devil's Trap**

Rian glanced up from her menu at the waitress who was giving her a look of pity. It was almost too much and Rian had to resist the urge to flee the diner. All she wanted was a decent meal so that she had the energy to make it to Bobby Singer's.

She knew she was close, she'd found a diner in Shindler, a little community just outside of Sioux Falls, SD. She had hitchhiked some of the way, taken a few buses, and walked some of the distance from Salvation, Iowa. She felt drained and tired and she was honestly not sure what she was going to do when she made it to Bobby's.

Mostly she was hoping that the old hunter wouldn't shoot her on sight.

"What can I get for you, hun?" The woman asked in a warm voice. Rian looked at her nametag.

"What do you suggest, Quinn?" Rian asked, her voice a little hoarse.

Quinn grinned at her, she pulled the menu closer and after a moment of inspection pointed to something on the menu. Rian looked and saw that it was a chicken burger. She grinned, she hadn't been able to decide between the chicken burger or the portabello.

"I'll take that, then." Rian said, "And could I get some more water?"

Quinn nodded and was off in a second.

Rian looked down at her phone and saw that she had no new messages. Sam had tried to call her the day before but Rian had ignored it. She wasn't in the mood to talk to either of the Winchesters and she did not want to distract them. They were too busy finding John.

"What's your story?" Rian looked up to see that Quinn was sitting across the booth from her. She had removed her apron.

"What do you mean?" Rian asked, confused.

"Well, you look like you haven't slept in days, you're dirty and you kind of smell." Quinn grimaced, "Sorry, that was insensitive. Jimmy always told me I had a problem with that."

"Jimmy?" Rian asked, curious.

"Yeah, he's my sister's boyfriend and my best friend." Quinn said, "That's enough about me, what's your story?"

"I'm a runaway." Rian said finally, "Well, kind of. I'm trying to get to Singer's Salvage yard, do you know the place?"

"Yeah!" Quinn said enthusiastically, "Why do you want to go there though? The owner's a grouch and he hardly even fixes cars anymore."

"I know his foster sons." Rian said, she wasn't sure why she was trusting this girl so much. She only knew her name and the name of her best friend. "In fact, I had a fight with his foster sons and I don't really have anyone else to turn to so I'm going to him for help."

"Ah," Quinn said, "The two tall guys?"

"Yeah," Rian nodded, "The two tall guys. Anyways, could you tell me where it is? I'm kinda lost and I need to leave soon if I'm gonna get there before dark."

"How 'bout I give you a ride when my shift is over." Quinn offered.

"Really?" Rian asked, Quinn nodded, "Thank you!"

After that Quinn had to get back to work but she made sure to check on Rian when she could and kept her water full. She even gave Rian a slice of pie after she had been waiting patiently for two hours.

* * *

Rian waved goodbye to the cheerful Quinn as she drove off back down the road. She stuffed the number that Quinn had offered her into her back pocket and then steeled herself. She was going to talk to Bobby whether she liked it or not. Bobby was the only connection Rian had in this world besides the Winchesters, even if he didn't know it yet.

"Bobby, I need your help" Rian said quickly after nearly getting her head blown off by the man, "please, we can do demon tests and shit like that but I just walked almost entirely from Iowa and my feet feel like they're going to pop off."

"Who are you?" Bobby asked, still holding the shotgun to Rian's head, "How the hell do you know who I am?"

"I'd love to explain that," Rian assured, "but first can I please sit down, I'm not kidding about the feet." Bobby didn't move, "but If you'd feel more comfortable doing tests right now we can just get them over with,"

Holy water, silver knife, and two stitches later Rian was sitting on the couch in Bobby's living room. She looked around at all the books that littered the floor and every surface possible. Rian sneezed, not for the first time, and glared at nothing. She hated sneezing. Rian would honestly rather throw up than sneeze constantly.

"Now, tell me your story, girl." Bobby grumbled, "and it better be a damn good one, I was about to take a nap."

"First off, my name is Rian, not girl," Rian started with a smile then she sighed when Bobby glared at her, "Up until three days ago I was with Sam and Dean, we were on the trail of the demon that killed Mary but we lost him. I knew we were going to lose him and I didn't tell them. It's my fault, I could have stopped it. And now John is missing and the boys hate me and you're the only one I know of that probably wouldn't kill me."

Of course, Rian could have just gone to Ellen and Jo but she didn't know exactly where the roadhouse was.

"What are you talking about?" Bobby said, his voice gruff.

Rian studied the man for a second. He was taller than she had expected and older too. He was closer to sixty than fifty. Though he was fit, there was no chance of Bobby Singer dropping dead from old age.

"Five months ago Sam and Dean climbed in my window. Well kind of. This is going to sound crazy, and I understand if you don't believe me. But just let me finish before you decide to throw me out or shoot me or whatever," Rian continued when Bobby nodded "Okay, so the kind of thing is that the room was like my room but different, the desk was different, none of my work was there, the shape was the same it just wasn't mine. It was my town too, Aberdeen Washington. The boys were there hunting Kate, a vampire who was trying, and failing, to impersonate a 1900s serial killer.

"Here's the craziest thing, I'm from a different universe." Rian raised a hand to stop Bobby then continued when she realized it wasn't going to work. "Don't give me that look, I know how crazy that sounds. You see, in my old universe all of this was a TV show that I watched. The tenth season had just started airing when I was transported here or whatever. Now if you don't believe, which I know you don't, I can tell you information that no one else would know. But you won't like that I know that information."

"Tell me anyways, I want to know what you know." Bobby ordered.

"I know about Karen, I know that you didn't start hunting until Karen died." Rian shook her head, "and I know about your fight with John, I know about Ellen and Jo, I know 'bout the twins, I know about your dad. I know too much Bobby. I'm gonna get someone killed."

"Why'd you come here, kid?" Bobby asked, almost gently, almost.

"You know how the Winchesters are hunting the demon that killed Mary?" Rian asked, Bobby nodded, "well we got a lead in Salvation, Iowa and John was with us for most of it until we got a call from Meg, a demon. Meg threatened John to give her the colt and John decided to give her a fake one. So we split up, Sam, Dean and I followed the Salvation lead and John went to get the colt. The demon showed up in Salvation but he was gone before the brothers could get him. And John's being held hostage. Hell, I'm pretty sure he's possessed right now.

"And it's my fault. I should have remembered and I should have done something." Rian took a deep breath, "Anyways, Meg, the demon, called Sam and told us they had John then Dean flipped on me, again, and threatened to shoot me the next time he saw me so I came here because I don't know where the Harvelle Roadhouse is."

"Do you expect me to believe that?" Bobby asked, "What's keeping me from shooting you right now?"

"You don't have a gun." Rian said in a small voice.

All of a sudden there was a gun in Bobby's hand that was pointing at Rian's head. She winced and cowered into the couch a little but otherwise didn't move.

"I stand corrected, that's not what's stopping you." Rian said and she could have sworn that Bobby's lips twitched up a little, "What's stopping you is that I'm not a demon or any other kind of monster and the only way I'm in any way a threat to you is I could potentially tell someone about your past. Which I won't. I don't break promises, Bobby. And I promise to never tell anyone about your past. I swear it on my life."

There was a knock on the door and Rian froze. She had hoped she'd have more time to bring Bobby 'round before the brothers showed up. She looked up at Bobby with wide, tear filled, eyes. He looked back at her with curiosity.

"It's Sam and Dean," Rian told him, "please don't tell them that I'm here."

"You can hide upstairs in one of the spare rooms upstairs," Bobby told her gruffly.

Rian scrambled up the stairs and into the first room. She kept the door open a crack so that she could hear the conversation downstairs. Before settling in to listen she opened the window so that she would have a quick escape if Dean came up the stairs.

* * *

"Idjits," Bobby said by way of greeting, "What are you two doing here?"

"We need your help Bobby," Sam said, getting straight to the point, as usual. "The demon we're hunting has Dad."

Bobby nodded he ushered the boys inside and went to get a drink for himself and holy water to test the boys. He didn't, couldn't, trust that they were actually Dean and Sam. He needed to run tests himself.

"Here you go." Bobby said, handing Dean a flask and keeping one for himself.

"What is this?" Dean took a drink and nearly spit it out, "Holy water?"

"That one is." Bobby smirked, he lifted his flask, "This is whiskey." Which he sorely needed after the story that the kid had told him.

"Bobby, thanks." Dean said "Thanks for everything. To tell you the truth, I wasn't sure if we should come."

"Nonsense." Bobby said "Your daddy needs help."

"The last time we saw you, you did threaten to blast him full of buckshot." Dean chuckled "You cocked the shotgun and everything."

"Yeah, well, what can I say?" Bobby smiled wryly "John just has that effect on people."

"Yeah, I guess he does." Dean agreed

"None of that matters now." Bobby said "All that matters is that you get him back."

"Bobby, this book." Sam said in awe, he'd gone straight for the books when John had offered one to them, "I've never seen anything like it. Key of Solomon?"

"It's the real deal, alright." Bobby said grinning, he'd tried for years to get his hand on that book.

"And these protective circles - They really work?" Sam asked pointing at one of them

"Hell yeah." Bobby told him, "You get a demon in one, they're trapped. They're powerless. It's like a satanic roach motel."

"Dean: the man knows his stuff." Sam said in awe.

"I'll tell you something else, too." Bobby added "This is some serious crap you boys stepped in."

"Oh, yeah? How's that?" Dean asked.

"Normal year, I hear, say, three demonic possessions, maybe four, tops." Bobby said "This year, I heard of 27 so far. You get what I'm saying? More and more demons are walking among us - A lot more."

"Do you know why?" Sam asked. Bobby shook his head.

"No, but I know it's something big." Bobby said "The storm's coming, and you boys, your daddy, " That girl, "You are smack in the middle of it."

Outside a dog, Rumsfeld, starts to bark. Now that Bobby thought about it Rumsfeld hadn't barked when Rian had walked up to his house. Bobby swore.

"Rumsfeld." He went to look out the window.

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"Something's wrong," Bobby told him, Rumsfeld only barked when something was wrong.

"It's Meg." Rian said from the bottom of the stairs, making everyone jump. "Meg's coming. Your dog can sense it Bobby."

Bobby watch in shock as Dean tried to shove Rian against the wall. She moved like she was prepared for it, stepping to the side and dropping down onto one knee. She kicked out her other leg and sent Dean sprawling on the floor.

Rian had Dean pinned to the ground seconds after that, her knee in his back.

"I think you forgot something," Rian said, holding up Dean's gun. She grinned as Dean sputtered in shock, "Next time follow through on your promise and shoot first."

Rian made sure the safety was on and then tossed the gun to Sam who was also watching in shock. Evidently the girl hadn't shown the full extent of her ability to protect herself before.

"Rian," Dean growled, "I thought I said I never wanted to see you again."

"And I heard you." Rian told him with a shrug, she was still holding him on the ground, "and I listened. I left. Now, I never promised anything, Dean-o." She sighed, letting up the pressure she had on Dean's arm and stepping away from him so that the boy could stand, "Look, I'm sorry about John. But you need to understand that I'm confused as hell Dean. I have been for the last five months. I'm playing this shit by ear. Now, we need to save your dad and you're gonna need my help. But first we need to get ready for the wicked bitch that's coming here right now."

"Fine, but I better not see you after that." Dean growled, rubbing his arm.

"Perfect." Rian agreed before turning to Bobby.

He may not have known the girl well but Bobby could see that she was breathing hard and shaking. He tossed her his flask of whiskey which she looked at in confusion.

"It twists open, right?" Rian asked and Bobby smirked with a nod. He watched as Rian opened the flask in embarrassment and nearly spat out the whiskey. She squared her shoulders, took another drink, and managed to not sputter at the harsh burn. "Thanks."

Rian moved away from Dean, who was glaring at her, and turned back to Bobby.

"Now what?"

* * *

Rian had been banished to the second floor of the house. Bobby was worried that she'd either get in the way or get herself killed so she was to wait upstairs until Meg was thoroughly secured.

Dean had wanted to keep her up there until they disposed of Meg but Rian had refused. She wasn't Dean's responsibility anymore and as such she wasn't going to listen to him. All deals with Dean were off.

Rian heard the crash that indicated Meg had arrived and held her breath. She knew from the show that everything worked out, kinda, but she was still worried that her presence would change things.

She only relaxed slightly when Bobby yelled up to her saying that she was free to come down whenever. With a groan Rian lifted herself from her spot on the floor and limped down the stairs.

When she had stopped Dean from pushing her into the wall Rian had pulled a muscle in her calf. She'd tried her hardest not to show it but Bobby had noticed and told her to relax a little. She'd taken an ibuprofen to prevent swelling and had then iced her calf.

It still hurt like a bitch.

"You know, if you wanted to tie me up, all you had to do was ask." Meg was joking when Rian entered the room, Meg looked at her, "Ah the Winchester bitch. There's talk of you in hell, y'know."

Rian flinched away and decided that the safest bet was to stay in the doorway between Bobby's makeshift office and the living room.

"I salted the doors and windows." Bobby said, giving Rian a concerned look, "If there are any demons out there, they ain't getting in."

"Where's our father, Meg?" Dean asked, he may not have liked Rian all that much but he also didn't want the girl to have to deal with Meg

"You didn't ask very nice." Meg pouted

"Where's our father, bitch?" Dean amended

"Jeez." Meg said "You kiss your mother with that mouth? Oh, I forgot. You don't."

"You think this is a freaking game?!" Dean yelled getting up close and personal with the demon "Where is he?! What did you do to him?!"

"He died screaming." Meg said not even phased by Dean's yelling. "I killed him myself."

Dean slapped Meg and Rian flinched stepping back further into the room she was in.

"That's kind of a turn-On - You hitting a girl." Meg smiled

"You're no girl." Dean hissed

"Dean." Bobby said, gesturing Dean into the room that Rian was in.

Dean glared at Meg but then followed Bobby into the room. Sam came in after him. He patted Rian on the shoulder as he passed her. Rian gave him a thin smile.

"You okay?" Sam asked when the four of them were in the living room.

"She's lying." Rian said when Dean didn't respond "He's not dead. I don't know exactly where he is but he is not dead."

"Dean, you've got to be careful with her." Bobby said, looking wide eyed at Dean "Don't hurt her."

"Why?" Dean asked

"Because she really is a girl." Rian said "That's why."

"What are you talking about?" Dean asked turning on Rian with a raised eyebrow. He was too high-strung to notice how Rian flinched at his sudden movement.

"She's possessed." Rian said, Bobby continued her explanation when Rian couldn't say anymore.

"That's a human possessed by a demon." Bobby explained "Can't you tell?"

"Are you trying to tell me there's an innocent girl Trapped somewhere in there?" Bobby nodded

"That's actually good news." Dean said before walking out to Meg.

Rian grabbed Sam by the arm "Whatever you do don't stop reading until you have one word left, the girl needs that demon out of her if she's going to have any chance of survival. And we need the demon gone, she won't be able to help us after this."

Sam nodded and then followed Dean out, picking up the book on his way.

"Are you gonna read me a story?" Meg asked flirtatiously.

"Something like that." Dean said, smirking, "Hit it, Sam."

Sam began the exorcism.

"An exorcism? Are you serious?" Meg asked with a chuckle

"We're going for it, baby - Head spinning, Projectile vomiting, the whole nine yards." Dean said while Sam continued reading.

"I'm gonna kill you." Meg breathed "I'm gonna rip the bones from your body."

"No, you're gonna burn in hell," Dean countered "Unless you tell us where our dad is."

Meg just smirked

"Well, at least you'll get a nice tan." Dean shrugged,

"Aah! He begged for his life with tears in his eyes." Meg grunted, the exorcism was obviously beginning to work. "He begged to see his sons one last time. That's when I slit his throat."

"For your sake, I hope you're lying." Dean said "Cause if it's true, I swear to god, I will march into hell myself, and I will slaughter each and every one of you evil sons of bitches, so help me god."

Sam continued the exorcism as Meg screamed in pain, her body arching off the chair she was tied to. Rian felt like she was going to be sick.

"Where is he?" Dean yelled.

"You just won't take "dead" for an answer, will you?" Meg panted

"Where is he?!" Dean repeated

"Dead!" Meg shouted

"No, he's not! He's not dead! He can't be! " Dean practically screamed, pages of nearby books began to flutter, distracting Sam, Dean turned to him "What are you looking at? Keep reading."

Sam kept reading until Meg yelled

"He will be!"

"Wait!" Dean ordered as Sam stopped reading "What?!"

"He's not dead, but he will be after what we do to him." Meg breathed

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Dean asked

"You don't." Meg grinned, panting due to the pain that she was in

"Sam!" Dean ordered

"A building! Okay? A building in Jefferson city." Meg yelled

"Missouri? Where, where? An address." Dean demanded

"I don't know." Meg told them

"And the demon - Where is it?" Dean wanted to know

"I don't know." Meg said, "I swear. That's everything. That's all I know."

"Finish it." Dean ordered Sam. He walked away slightly, taking a deep breath as Sam continued the exorcism.

"What? I told you the truth." Meg yelled

"I don't care." Dean said

"You son of a bitch." Meg bit out, "You promised."

"I lied!" Dean yelled "Sam? Sam! Read."

"We can still use her" Sam started when Rian interrupted him

"No, we can't. Finish this and maybe we can still save the girl." Rian said from her spot by the door

"You'll kill her," Bobby started

"Sam, finish it." Rian urged over Bobby "Finish it."

She turned to Bobby as Sam finished the exorcism "It's either this or she remains a demon, which would you prefer?"

"The hell, girl?" Bobby yelled when Sam finished.

"Call 911, She's still alive." Rian ordered after looking the girl over, feeling for a breath and checking her pulse, "I'm not sure how much longer."

"Get some water and blankets." Bobby ordered Sam while he placed the call to 911.

Rian covered the floor where they were going to lay Meg when she had been given the blankets. She knew there wasn't enough time, she had been too late.

"Thank you." The girl said with a brief smile

"Shh, shh, just take it easy, all right?" Rian said gently with tears in her eyes/

"Thank you." Meg repeated.

"Shh." Sam said, joining Rian, "Come on. Let's get her down."

"Sorry, sorry." Rian said when the girl moaned. "I've got you. I've got you. It's okay. It's okay."

They moved Meg onto the floor so that she was lying on her back. Rian brushed Meg's hair out of her face and tried her hardest not to cringe at the heat the girl was giving off.

"A year." The girl murmured

"What?" Sam asked

"It's been a year." She repeated

"Just take it easy." Sam ordered gently, "You'll be fine"

"I've been awake for some of it. I couldn't move my own body. The things I did - It's a nightmare." Meg said, Rian grabbed her hand, rubbing soothing circles into it.

"Was it telling us the truth about our dad?" Dean asked

"Dean." Sam scolded

"We need to know." Dean argued simply

"Yes." The girl whispered, "But it wants you to know that, they want you to come for him."

"If dad's still alive, none of that matters." Dean said

"Where is the demon we're looking for?" Rian asked, gently.

"Not there. Other ones. Awful ones." The girl mumbled

"Where are they keeping our dad?" Dean asked

"By the r-River." The girl breathed "Sunrise."

Rian watched as Meg stopped breathing with her eyes remaining open. She dropped the hand she still clutched and stood up, running to the bathroom.

She'd never actually seen someone die. All those months with Sam and Dean and they'd managed to keep her from seeing someone die. Rian threw up and then sat down on the tiled floor of the bathroom. She stared blankly at the door, she wanted to cry but no tears were forthcoming.

"Dammit," Rian muttered to herself, "I thought I could change this one."

And she had, Rian had been so confident that she could save Meg but they had been too late. She hadn't gotten Sam to finish the exorcism. Rian would have done it herself but she couldn't actually pronounce the latin words. She could barely read them as it was.

Someone knocked on the door.

Rian yelled at them to go away but seeing as none of the men here knew the concept of privacy Rian wasn't actually surprised when the door opened.

What did surprise her, however, was the fact that Dean Winchester was watching her with concern.

"What do you want?" She grumbled, watching him cautiously. If Dean was going to yell at her for throwing up then Rian was going to throw up on him in retaliation.

"I wanted to make sure that you were okay." Dean said, Rian's mouth opened in shock.

"Why do you care?" Rian asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"I'm not heartless, you know." Dean said gruffly.

"Could have fooled me." Rian snapped.

"Look, I'm sorry, alright. I've been an asshole." Dean apologized, "but you're right. We don't know enough of what's going on. Will you come with us?"

"You're not possessed, right?" Rian asked after a moment, "Meg didn't sneak past us into your body?"

Dean rolled his eyes, "I'm not possessed." He assured her.

"Okay, I'll come." Rian said, "but next time you yell at me or push me against the wall needlessly I get ten free swings."

"Agreed." Dean said with a small laugh.

* * *

"Dude, what are you doing to my car!" Dean yelled when he and Rian walked outside, each of them carrying two bags.

"It's called a devil's trap." Sam explained finishing the drawing inside the trunk, "Demons can't get through it or inside it."

"So?" Dean asked, glaring at Sam

"It basically turns the trunk into a lockbox." Rian explained with a smile

"So?" Dean repeated

"So now we have a safe place to put the gun while we go get dad." Sam explained with a grin

"I don't care, Sam! I don't care what dad wants, okay?" Dean yelled "Since when do you care what dad wants?"

"We want to kill this demon." Sam explained "You used to want that, too. Hell, you're the one who came and got me at school! You're the one who dragged me into this. I'm just trying to finish it."

"Well, you and dad are a lot more alike than I thought." Dean argued "You both can't wait to sacrifice yourself for this thing. But you know what? I'm gonna be the one to bury you. You're selfish, you know that? You don't care about anything but revenge."

"That's not true, dean." Rian said, "We can't take the colt on this one. These will be minor demons and using the gun won't help your dad. You need to keep it safe and hidden this time."

"I want dad back, but they are expecting us to bring this gun." Sam said, "They get the gun, they will kill us all. That colt is our only leverage, and you know it, dean."

"We cannot bring that gun." Rian told them, "If we give them that leverage then all of this is over."

"We can't." Sam agreed, closing the trunk with both hands.

"Fine." Dean grumbled, not sounding happy at all.

"I'm serious, Dean." Sam said, watching his brother closely

"I said 'fine,' Sam" Dean yelled "Why do you two have to gang up on me like that?"

"Because." Rian said simply, she was about to get in the back when she remembered that three of her bags were supposed to be in the trunk, she gestured to it with her head, "uh, could one of you open that for me?"

* * *

"Sunrise is an apartment complex by the river. That's where they're hiding your dad." Rian explained when they were on the road. "That's all I can remember."

"That narrows it down." Dean remarked sarcastically

"Bug off." Rian grumbled.

The rest of the drive to Jefferson City was silent except for Dean's tapes that were sending the classic rock through the Impala. Each of the car's occupants were lost in their own thought and even if they wanted to speak, no one really knew what to say.

"Son of a bitch." Dean said when they finally got there. The building was crawling with demons and humans with no way to really differentiate the two.

"That's pretty smart." Sam said and Rian agreed with a hum "If these demons can possess people, they can possess almost anybody inside. And make anybody attack us"

"And we can't kill them -" Rian said with a wince, "so they have a building full of human shields."

"They know exactly what we look like, too, and they could look like anybody." Sam pointed out.

"This sucks out loud." Dean grimaced "Alright, so, how the hell are we gonna get in?"

"Pull the fire alarm, get out all the civilians." Sam suggested, "We'll get seven minutes"

Sam snuck in to pull the alarm and Rian and Dean stood back from the building. Rian was leaning against the driver side door while Dean rummaged through the trunk, getting everything ready.

"Dean," Rian said, getting the man's attention, "Take the colt with you."

Dean looked at her over the trunk door, "Huh? I thought you and Sammy were all gung-ho against it?"

"I wanna stay on Sammy-boys good side" Rian said with a shrug

"What about my good side?" Dean asked with a smirk

"I think you should be worried about being on my bad side, Dean-o." Rian smiled wryly, "No one makes Finley Errian Anna-Maris Fitzgerald walk to Bobby's and gets away with it. Except maybe Dean Winchester if he promises never to do that again"

Dean stared at Rian before finally grumbling, "Fine, I won't kick you out again, Fin."

Rian smiled at him then moved away from the impala. Dean got the colt out of the trunk and stuck it in the waistband of his pants. He closed the trunk as Sam approached.

"We've got about five minutes left." Sam said walking up to them "You guys remember the plan?"

"Yeah" Rian said as Dean reluctantly handed her the keys. Rian was assigned the role of getaway driver . She was also the distraction so that Dean and Sam could get the firemen suits.

"Hey, what's happening? Is it a fire?" Rian asked approaching a fireman in a slight panic

"We're figuring that out right now, ma'am" The fireman said, distractedly "Just stay back."

"I got a yorkie upstairs, and he pees when he's nervous." Rian explained trying to push past the fireman

"Ma'am, you have to stay back." The fireman pleaded, leading Rian to where the other residents were waiting. She watched carefully, waiting for Sam and Dean to enter the building, before she went back to the impala.

Rian grinned as she slid behind the steering wheel of the impala. She wasn't much for cars but she could appreciate anything that was a classic. She started Dean's 'baby' up and was greeted with a thrilling purr from the engines. Rian maneuvered the car to the agreed upon meeting spot and turned on the music to wait.

Not even five minutes later Sam and Dean are running to the car with John braced between them. Rian made sure that all the doors were unlocked then threw the car into drive as she waited for the men to pile in.

"Drive" Dean commanded when he and Sam get John in the car, "Drive west, we'll switch in a couple hours."

Rian nodded and drove away from the complex. After a couple of hours she pulled off to the side of the road and Dean took over. She was unnerved by John for some reason and so she slipped in the back behind the driver's seat in order to be as far away from him as possible.

Once they got to the cabin that was to be their safe house Rian immediately started salting the house. She finished up just as Dean walked back in the room from helping John. The little cabin was hidden from any major or minor roads by two miles of woods, extremely secluded. Rian found that is had three rooms, a living room a small kitchen and the bedroom that John was occupying so that he could get some rest.

She brushed off a chair and perched on the edge of it trying to hide her disgust at the nasty state of the cabin.

"We need to draw a devil's trap." Rian said suddenly, before she even realized that she had been speaking,

"What do you mean?" Dean asked, glancing at Sam then looking at Rian.

"I don't know," Rian said, she looked at the ground, "It's just a feeling, and besides, it wouldn't hurt to be prepared right?"

"No one knows where this cabin is," Dean told her before sighing, "Fine, let's draw your goddamned devil's trap."

"Thank you." Rian said before helping Dean move things around.

"You okay?" Dean asked once they were done, sticking his hands in his pocket

Rian shook her head not caring enough to elaborate. Dean shrugged after a few moments and went to sit down on the back of a chair in the room.

"Hey, you don't think we were followed here, do you?" Dean asked after a couple moments

"I don't know." Sam said at the same time that Rian says "I don't think so."

"We couldn't have found a more out-of-the-way place to hole up." Sam mentioned

"Yeah." Dean agreed

"Hey, uh Dean, you, um" Sam paused walking from where he was finishing up the Devil's Trap to stand by Dean "You saved my life back there."

"So I guess you're glad I brought the gun, huh?" Dean joked, not mentioning that Rian had told him to take it.

"Man, I'm trying to thank you here." Sam said, smiling

"You're welcome." Dean said as Sam left the room

"Hey, Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"You know that guy I shot?" Dean asked "There was a person in there."

"You didn't have a choice, Dean." Sam assured turning back into the room.

"I know." Dean replied "That's not what bothers me."

"Then what does?" Sam asked curiously

"Killing that guy, killing Meg." Dean elaborated "I didn't hesitate. I didn't even flinch. For you or dad, the things I'm willing to do or kill, It's just It scares me sometimes."

"It shouldn't" John said walking into the room. Rian flinched and moved so that she was closer to both Dean and Sam. "You did good."

"You're not mad?" Dean asked, confused and slightly suspicious. He shared a look with Sam.

"For what?" John replied, tilting his head to the side in a fashion similar to Sam's confused look

"Using a bullet." Dean elaborated

"Mad? I'm proud of you." John smiled "You know, Sam and me, we can get pretty obsessed. But you - You watch out for this family. You always have."

"Thanks." Dean said frowning a little. The wind outside picks up and Rian smiled a little as John moved to the window. Right under the Devil's Trap. Maybe they could save John this time.

"It found us." John said "It's here."

"The demon?" Rian asked, peeking around Sam, where she had moved for protection.

"Sam, lines of salt in front of every window, every door." John ordered

"Already did it." Rian said

"Check it, okay?" John said, Sam left the room.

"Dean, you got the gun?" John asked, turning to look at his oldest son.

"Yeah." Dean said, standing so that Rian was behind him. He was suspicious of his dad and was starting to think that Rian might have been on to something.

"Give it to me." John demanded, reaching for the gun

"Sam tried to shoot the demon." Rian pointed out sheepishly, "It vanished."

"I won't miss." John glared at Rian, something that had Rian on edge, "Now, the gun. Hurry. Son, please. Give me the gun."

"What are you doing, Dean?" John asked as Dean lifted the colt to point it at John

"You'd be furious." Dean said calmly, leveling the gun and steadying it with both hands.

"What?" John asked

"That I wasted a bullet." Dean said, frowning "He wouldn't be proud of me. He'd tear me a new one. You're not my dad. I know my dad better than anyone, and you ain't him."

"What the hell has gotten into you?" John asked trying to step towards Dean. When he was forced to stop John looked up to see the Devil's trap on the ceiling.

Rian shuddered when John looked back at them, the man's eyes were yellow and he was glaring at Rian and Dean

"I could ask you the same thing." Azazel said, using John's voice, "When did you figure it out? It obviously wasn't right now."

Azazel looked at Rian and Rian flinched back and ran into Sam, who made sure to keep the woman standing.

"Dean? What the hell is going on?" Sam asked as he caught Rian by the shoulders.

"Your brother's lost his mind." Azazel said, his voice the commanding one that John often used on the siblings.

"He's not dad." Dean said.

"He's possessed, this is Azazel," Rian regretted what she said when Azazel looked at her.

"How do you know who I am?" Azazel asked, he was straining against the Devil's Trap trying to get a closer look at Rian who hid behind Sam.

Azazel shrugged after a moment and then looked at Dean who still had the gun leveled at him.

"You're both so sure. Go ahead. Kill me." Azazel challenged.

Nothing happened. Rian looked at Dean from around Sam.

"Dean?" She squeaked before understanding dawned on her. There was no way Dean Winchester could

"I can't kill Dad," Dean said, lowering the gun.

"It's alright," Rian said in understanding, "but what do we do now."

She wasn't sure what happened next but suddenly Rian found herself against the wall. She felt something in her leg crack and would have screamed if she had the breath for it.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Sam grunted and Rian barely managed to turn her head enough to see that the Winchesters were also up against the wall.

"Oh, that would be a neat trick." Azazel replied, smugly. He picked up the gun and held it out to Sam "In fact, here. Make the gun float to you there, psychic boy."

"Well, this is fun." Azazel said when nothing happened "I could've killed you a hundred times today, but this this is worth the wait. Your dad - He's in here with me, Trapped inside his own meat suit. He says "hi," by the way. He's gonna tear you apart. He's gonna taste the iron in your blood."

"Let him go, or I swear to god" Dean growled

"What? What are you and god gonna do?" Azazel said walking up to Dean "You see, as far as I'm concerned, this is justice. You know that little exorcism of yours? That was my daughter."

"Who, meg?" Dean grunted

"The one in the alley? That was my boy." Azazel continued, ignoring Dean "You understand?"

"You've got to be kidding me." Dean spat out

"What? You're the only one that can have a family?" Azazel asked "You destroyed my children. How would you feel if I killed your family? Oh, that's right. I forgot. I did. Still, two wrongs don't make a right."

"You son of a bitch." Dean growled

"I want to know why." Sam said, distracting Azazel. "Why did you do it?"

"You mean why did I kill mommy and pretty, little jess?" Azazel sneered

"Yeah." Sam said

"You know, I never told you this, But Sam was gonna ask her to marry him." Azazel said turning to Dean, "Been shopping for rings and everything." He turned back to Sam, "You want to know why? Because they got in the way."

"In the way of what?" Sam asked

"My plans for you, Sammy - You and all the children like you." Azazel said.

"Listen, you mind just getting this over with, huh?" Rian sneered, sounding braver than she felt, or maybe more foolish, "Cause I really can't stand the monologuing."

Azazel walked over to Rian and she cringed, "Why do you know who I am? How? You're not one of the children, I know all of them. Who are you?"

"You think you know everything?" Dean said distracting Azazel "Well, you're wrong."

"Funny, but that's all part of your m.o." Azazel said with a shrug "isn't it? Mask all that nasty pain, mask the truth."

"Oh, yeah? What's that?" Dean asked

"You know, you fight, and you fight for this family, But the truth is they don't need you." Azazel purred, getting into Dean's face "Not like you need them. Sam - He's clearly john's favorite. Even when they fight, it's more concern than he's ever shown you."

"I bet you're real proud of your kids, too, huh?" Dean said "Oh, wait, I forgot. I wasted 'em."

"Aah" Dean yelled when blood started to seep through his shirt. Azazel was doing some freaky demon crap to him and Rian couldn't bring herself to look away.

"Dean!" Sam yelled, "No!"

"Dad!" Dean grunted, pain and fear filling the words "Dad, don't you let it kill me!"

"Dean!" Sam yelled again

"Dad, please." Dean begged, blood running down his lips.

"Dean!" Rian yelled when Dean's head fell forward "No!"

"Stop." John begged when he got control of his own body, "Stop it."

Sam and Rian dropped to the floor and Sam ran for the gun while Rian ran over to Dean

"You kill me, you kill daddy." Azazel said, gaining control of his vessel again

"I know." Sam said, he couldn't do it though. Sam lowered the gun.

"Dean? Dean?" Sam yelled as he ran over to the other two.

"Hey." Dean groaned

"Oh, god, you lost a lot of blood." Sam said

"Where's dad?" Dean moaned

"He's right here." Rian said, reassuring Dean "He's right here, Dean."

"Go check on him." Dean ordered, panting as he tried to sit up. Rian stayed with Dean while Sam went to do as ordered

"Dad?" Sam said cautiously kneeling next to John

"Sammy! It's still alive." John yelled, gasping for air "It's inside me. I can feel it. You shoot me. You shoot me! You shoot me in the heart, son! Do it, now!

"Sam, don't you do it." Dean pleaded as Sam leveled the gun "Don't you do it."

"You've got to hurry." John panted "I can't hold on to it much longer. You shoot me, son! Shoot me! Son, I'm begging you! We can end this here and now! Sammy, you kill me!"

"Sam, no." Dean begged Rian grabbed his hand whether to hold him back or reassure him, she wasn't sure.

"You do this! Sammy! Sam, Sam I'm begging you, son." John pleaded, "You've got to. I can't hold on to it much longer. Shoot me!"

Sam lost his chance when black smoke cleared out of John's body, leaving the man winded. Sam ran over to Dean, knowing that Dean was in worse condition. While he did that Rian ran over to help him up, leaving Sam to deal with Dean.

Dean tried to move towards John and Rian but Sam held him back. "You've lost too much blood, Dean. We need to get you to a hospital."

Sam and Rian help move Dean and John to the car, putting Dean in the back next to Rian and John up by Sam who was driving.

"Look, just hold on, alright?" Sam begged the injured men "The hospital is only 10 minutes away."

"I'm surprised at you, Sammy." John said "Why didn't you kill it? I thought we saw eye-to-tye on this. Killing this demon comes first - Before me, before everything."

"No, sir, not before everything." Sam said "Look, we've still got the colt. We still have the one bullet left. We just have to start over, all right?"

Rian stared out of the impala window, not really paying attention to the boys. She can see a semi racing towards them and turns to watch it, expecting it to slow down but when it doesn't she turned to warn Sam. Nothing came out though, she was panicking too much for a warning.

"We already found the demon - "

There was a sharp pain and then her world went black.


	8. How to Not Die, A Dean Winchester Memoir

**In My Time of Dying**

The first thing Rian noticed was that she could hear again. Then, a few moments later, she regained some feeling in her body. Finally she was able to control her body. Even with her eyelids closed she could see a harsh light so Rian refused to open them.

The steady beep of equipment, and the harsh smell of disinfectant, let Rian know that she was in a hospital. Which wasn't surprising, considering that Dean's Impala had been hit by an eighteen wheeler. In hindsight Rian should have known the accident was going to happen. It had been the season finale of the first ever season of Supernatural. But then, she'd learned about hindsight bias in the introductory psych class she'd taken.

Rian opened her eyes finally to take in the room. White was the dominating color but there were some shades of blue throughout the room. There were two chairs next to her bed, a coat rack in the corner, and a counter full of various medical equipment that she had no idea how to use.

She tried to move her left arm only to find that it was painful to do so. There was an IV in her arm and another needle attached to something she couldn't identify. It wasn't until that moment that Rian understood why the protagonists in action movies always ripped their IVs out right after waking up. She knew it was a stupid thing to do so she willed herself not to follow the lead of made up characters.

When the nurse walked in Rian tried to smile but found that it was painful. She checked her lip with her right hand to find that there was a cut along the left corner of her mouth. Further inspection of her body found that her right arm was in a cast, her left leg was bandaged, and nearly half of her head was shaved to make room for a bandage. She winced at that. When the four of them were out of the hospital she was going to need a haircut.

"Oh good," The nurse greeted with a kind smile, "you're awake."

"What about the others?" Rian asked, worried for Sam, Dean, and John. She sounded like she'd been forced to swallow nails. Rian cleared her throat and tried again, to no avail, "The one's in the car with me, are they okay? Are they awake?"

"One of them's awake." The nurse told her kindly and she gently started to check Rian's vitals, "I can send him in when we're done, if that's alright with you?"

Rian nodded and waited patiently for the check-up to be through. They removed the IV and the other needle and Rian was finally able to move both her arms.

"You have a minor concussion," The nurse let her know, "so we're keeping you on bed rest for another day, after that you can get up."

Rian nodded and the nurse left the room. Despite her order of bed rest Rian got out of bed and limped to the bathroom. She wanted to see how bad she actually looked.

Her left eye was bruised, there was a cut next to the left side of her mouth. Her hair was shaved on the right side and Rian was pretty sure she had staples in her head. Her neck was pretty stiff but she would be surprised if it wasn't.

"Didn't the nurse tell you you're on bed rest?" A voice said behind her, making her jump.

Rian turned to see Sam and gave him as much of a smile as she could. She observed Sam instead of responding. He had a bruise under his left eye, a gash over his nose, and his arms were both bandaged. Other than that he did not look like he was in an accident.

"You look like shit." Sam said when he figured Rian wasn't going to respond, "I'm surprised you're up."

"Me too, actually." Rian said with a grimace, "I'm gonna need to fix my hair up but I think the break on my arm is the worst of it."

"You should lay down, they told me you had a concussion." Sam said, gently leading Rian from the bathroom to the bed. Luckily she had one of the full hospital gowns on, not one that showed her backside.

"But this is boring." Rian complained as she sat down on the bed. She looked at Sam with wide eyes, "How're Dean and John?"

"Dad's still out, they think he should wake up soon. And Dean…" Sam paused, "Dean's pretty beat up, Rian."

"I'm sorry," Rian apologize immediately, not looking up from her hands, "If I had remembered sooner than I had I could have prevented this. I'm so sorry Sam."

Sam sat on the bed next to Rian, rubbing her back like he had not even a week ago when she'd hid behind the impala. Rian leaned into Sam, still not looking up from her hands as she cried.

"It's not your fault, Rian," Sam said gently, "the past is the past."

Rian nodded. She knew that he was just saying things but she also knew that she needed to suck it up. There would be time for crying later. For now there were things that needed to be attended too. For instance, Rian wanted to see John and Dean for herself.

"Can we see Dean?" Rian asked quietly looking up at Sam with wide eyes.

Sam regarded her for a second before nodding. He helped her from the bed and kept an arm around her waist so that he could lead her to Dean's room. Rian winced with every step. Now she was positive that her left leg had stitches.

"Hey Sam," Rian said when they were only a few feet from her room, she was staring straight ahead, not daring to make eye contact with the youngest Winchester, "I- I think I know what's going to happen next."

"Okay," Sam said slowly, looking down at her in concern.

"And it's bad." She continued, still not looking at Sam, "but I don't know what to do. I don't know how to prevent it or what to change. Or if I should even change anything."

She could save John by preventing him from making the deal with Azazel. But if she did that then Dean would die and honestly Rian wasn't sure which was worse. She knew how the older Winchester brother felt about her. But he was necessary to future events. On the other hand she was really close to John and it would be like losing another father.

"Maybe it's not your job to change anything." Sam said after a moment of consideration, "and I mean no offence when I say this, but how much can you actually change?"

Rian considered this for a moment. She had this theory that if something was meant to happen then it would happen no matter what. Maybe the minor details would change, such as Rian being there, but the overall picture would remain the same. Maybe Sam was right.

* * *

Dean woke up to bright lights and a feeling of vertigo. He quickly leaves the room in search of a receptionist, someone who could help. He feels slightly detached and the feeling gets worse when no one responds to him.

Two flights down he finally found a receptionist but she doesn't even notice him. With a feeling of panic Dean ran back to his room. His body is lying flat on a bed and Dean realizes why he was feeling so detached.

Dean watched as Sam and Rian entered the room. Sam had his arm around Rian, holding her up. She looked at Dean's body and grimaced, burying her head into Sam's side.

"Sammy You look good considering" Dean said to his younger brother, he looked at Rian and grimaced, "Rian you look like shit."

They didn't seem to hear him and he began to panic a little, this was going to be a long day "Man, tell me you can hear me. How's dad? Is he okay? Come on, you're the psychic, Sam. Give me some ghost whispering or something."

Rian looked up at where Dean was standing like she'd heard something but quickly looked away as one of the doctor's entered the room.

"Your father's awake." The doctor said from the doorway, "You can go see him if you like."

"Oh, thank god." Dean breathed. Sam and Rian also heaved a sigh of relief. Rian looked to where Dean was standing again and he swore that he could see a look of understanding cross her face, like she knew he was there.

"Doc, what about my brother?" Sam asked scrunching his face in a way that reminded Dean of a puppy dog.

"Well, he sustained serious injury." The doctor explained "Blood loss, contusions to his liver and kidney. But it's the head trauma I'm worried about. There's early signs of cerebral edema."

"Well, what can we do?" Sam asked shifting his arm so that Rian could step away.

"Well, we won't know his full condition until he wakes up." The doctor paused "If, He wakes up."

"If?" Sam squeaked. The man was 6'4 and he was _squeaking._

"I have to be honest." The Doctor said.

"Honesty is the best policy," Rian mocked and Dean couldn't help but grin.

"Screw you, doc I'm waking up!" Dean yelled. No one reacted to it.

"Most people with his degree of injury wouldn't have survived this long." the doctor continued explaining "He's fighting very hard. But you need to have realistic expectations, son."

"Come on, Sam." Dean pleaded, "Go find some hoodoo priest to lay some mojo on me. I'll be fine."

Rian looked back one more time before stepping back to Sam. Dean could see that she was having trouble standing, let alone walking, and he felt bad for her.

"Sam?" Dean pleaded, willing his brother to hear him. When that doesn't work he turned to Rian, "Rian?"

He missed her look of shock.

Dean followed the two into his Dad's room and felt more relieved to actually see his dad awake. They exchanged pointless pleasantries.

"How you doing?" Sam asked, watching John closely. He helped Rian to the chair by John's bed.

"All right." John replied, rifling through his wallet. "Here. Give them my insurance." He handed a card to Rian.

"Elroy Mcgillicuddy?" Rian laughed before handing the card to Sam

"And his three loving children." John joked "So what else did the doctor say about Dean?"

"Nothing." Rian said, she glanced over to where Dean was standing.

"Look If the doctors won't do anything, Then we'll have to, that's all." Sam said urgently. Dean felt a swell of pride for his younger sibling.

"I don't know." John replied skeptically

"I'll find some Hoodoo priest and lay some mojo on him." Sam said and both Rian and Dean give small smiles.

"We'll look for someone." Rian said glancing back toward Dean again, "Ain't no way in hell we're gonna give up on Dean-o."

"Yeah." Dean agreed, surprised that Rian was so adamant about saving him.

"But, Sam, Rian, I don't know if we're gonna find anyone." John said skeptically.

"Why not?" Sam asked, "I found that faith healer before."

"That was one in a million." John reminded, looking at his hands

"So what?" Sam argued "We just sit here with our thumbs up our ass?"

"No, I said we'd look." John glared at Sam "All right? I'll check under every stone. Where's the colt?"

"Your son is dying, and you're worried about the colt?" Sam scoffed, gripping the back of Rian's chair. She reached up and placed a hand on one of Sam's, shaking her head in warning.

"We are hunting this demon, and maybe it's hunting us too." John yelled before continuing a little quieter, "That gun may be our only card."

"Would you two stop yelling?" Rian asked, her voice quiet, "I do have a concussion, y'know." Both of the men looked at Rian apologetically. "Thank you, now let's continue using inside voices."

"It's in the trunk." Sam told John "They dragged the car to a yard off of i-83."

"Alright, you got to clean out that trunk before some junk man sees what's inside." John ordered

"I already called Bobby." Sam told his father. "He's like an hour out. He's gonna tow the Impala back to his place."

"All right. You go meet up with Bobby." John commanded "You get that colt and bring it back to me. And you watch out for hospital security."

"I think I got it covered." Sam said, his voice cold. He was not appreciating the lack of faith John was showing him.

"Hey. Here." John said handing Sam a piece of paper. "I made a list of things I need that Bobby pick them up for me."

"Acacia? Oil of Abramelin? What's this stuff for?" Sam questioned, looking between Rian and John.

"Protection," John lied

Sam started to walk out the door. Rian watched him walk away but was too tired to really follow. The smart thing to do would be to go lay back down where she was supposed to be.

"Hey, dad you know the demon?" Sam started, pausing at the door, "He said he had plans for me and children like me. You have any idea what he meant by that?"

"No, I don't." John said.

Sam started to walk out but was stopped by a cough and a helpless shrug from Rian.

"Sorry." She apologized but Sam shrugged it off, helping Rian stand and keep her balanced as they make their way out of the room.

"Well, you sure know something." Dean said to no one as John shifted on the bed to get more comfortable.

* * *

Rian hugged Sam before the man was able to leave the room she was in, "I'm glad you're okay." She said with a smile, "I have some top secret other dimension all-knowing things to deal with. I'll call you if something happens. Or if I feel like it."

Sam smiled at Rian and ruffled her hair, "Stay safe, Rian." He sighed, "Try not to push yourself too much on the knowing what's going to happen. If it's meant to happen it will. And also no leaving your bed until I get back."

"Yes mother," Rian said with a playful smirk, "I'm a big girl Sammy, I actually am capable of taking care of myself."

Sam smiled at her and then left the room, shouldering the bag he had gotten as he went. Rian grabbed the sweats and t-shirt Sam had managed to get for her and slipped them on. It was a difficult task, considering she was laying down and her arm was in a cast.

She limped to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. She considered unwrapping her head but she knew that the bandage was there for a reason. Instead Rian went about her business and then limped back to the bed. She'd wanted to go to Dean's room but she was too tired to leave the bed. Instead Rian curled up for a nap, letting the whir of machines lull her into sleep.

* * *

Dean watched as Rian walked into his room. He had been busy yelling at his father for apparently not caring but one look at Rian shut him up. He still wasn't sure if he trusted Rian but he was certainly warming up to the girl.

"Hey," Rian said, placing a pale hand on John's shoulder, "How you holding up?"

"Certainly better than you," John replied tiredly as he watched Rian lower herself into a chair, "How'd you manage to get beat up so bad?"

"I wasn't wearing my seatbelt." Rian told him sheepishly, "Dean was bleeding too much and I was trying to staunch the flow before he died from blood loss."

John nodded.

Dean walked out then, he wasn't about to deal with John's seemingly callous reaction to Dean being in a coma.

* * *

Rian regarded John wearily. She knew what John was planning but she wasn't sure how to help. Because that's what she wanted to do. She wanted to help the Winchester family.

"Are you going to do it?" Rian asked not looking at John but instead staring at Dean.

"What do you mean?" John whispered gruffly, not looking away from Dean either.

"You know exactly what I mean, those ingredients aren't for protection. You're planning to summon Azazel." Rian looked at John, "Is there anything I can do to convince you not to?"

"No, Rian. You can't tell Sam and Dean either." John put his free hand on top of Rian's, "Please, I have to save Dean."

Rian nodded. She was still planning on stopping John, somehow. She knew the Winchesters were too stubborn for her to convince them so she would have to trick John someone. It wasn't going to be easy.

Rian pulled out her phone and sent a text to Sam.

 _ **Get Ouija board.**_

 _ **Why- SW**_ Rian read when Sam replied a minute later

 _ **We might need it later. Also pick up a box of Scooby- doo fruit snacks while you're at it. ;) Pls**_ _._

 _ **You're insufferable. SW**_

 _ **I'm also injured. Scooby-snacks have some magical healing power, I swear it.**_

 _ **Fine. SW**_

 _ **Thanks Sammy.**_

 _ **C SW**_

 _ **:P**_

Rian smiled when Sam conceded then went with John back to the man's room.. Rian stayed there until Sam came back listening to John tell stories about Sam and Dean. He had this way of telling the stories that let his love for his sons bleed through without actually showing that he cared.

Sam came back during a particularly funny story about how Dean had lost his last pair of pants and had ruined the pair he had on and had burned them before noticing that he didn't have another pair. The cops had shown up right then and Dean had run from the cops with no pants on. Dean had been around eighteen or nineteen years old.

Sam walked in and dropped his pack on the ground. He went to stand by the window and didn't say anything. John and Rian exchange a look before John cleared his throat. Rian notices Sam jaw tighten.

"You're quiet." John remarked calmly.

"You think I wouldn't find out?" Sam yelled turning on the two

"What are you talking about?" John asked innocently.

"That stuff from Bobby." Sam said loudly, glaring at John "You don't use it to ward off a demon. You use it to summon one. You're planning on bringing the demon here, aren't you? Having some stupid macho showdown!" Sam turned the glare to Rian "And you. You knew that and you didn't tell me."

Rian flinched as John tried to placate his son "I have a plan, Sam."

"That's exactly my point! Dean is dying, and you have a plan!" Sam yelled at his father "You know what?! You care more about Killing this demon than you do saving your own son!"

"No, no, no." Rian thought she heard someone speaking with her as she tried to calm the two Winchesters down. "Guys, don't do this!"

"Do not tell me how I feel!" John yelled "I am doing this for Dean."

"How?" Sam questioned, his voice louder than before "How is revenge gonna help him? You're not thinking about anybody but yourself! It's the same selfish obsession!"

"Guys," Rian whimpered. Her headache was growing and she felt helpless.

"That's funny, I thought this was your obsession too." John growled "This demon killed your mother, killed your girlfriend. You begged me to be part of this hunt! Now, if you killed that damn thing when you had the chance, none of this would have happened."

"It was possessing you, dad! I would have killed you, too!" Sam yelled

"Yeah, and your brother would be awake right now." John yelled back. Rian flinched

"Shut up, both of you!" Rian heard but neither of the other two reacted to the voice.

"Go to hell." Sam said. Rian flinched, she took calming breaths trying her hardest not to panic right then. It was definitely not the time for panic attacks.

"I should have never taken you along in the first place." John growled, "I knew it was a mistake."

Sam's reply was interrupted by a cup flying off one of the tables and smashing into the wall. The three seen occupants of the room stared at the cup.

Out in the hall there was a commotion that drew the attention of John, Sam, and Rian away from the cup. Sam helped Rian stand and the two slowly make there way out into the hall to find out what was going on. When Rian saw that it was right outside of Dean's room she drew her arm from Sam's.

"Go ahead, I'll be fine." Rian urged frantically. Sam nodded and was off.

"All clear?" The doctor was asking when Rian finally made it to the door. She leaned heavily against Sam, who absentmindedly wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her upright.

"Clear." The nurse replied. She checked Dean's pulse after "Still no pulse." The nurse told the rest of the staff.

"No." Sam said leaning against the door frame, making Rian take a step closer so that she wouldn't fall over completely.

"Still no pulse." The nurse repeated, checking Dean for a pulse again. She was the one who had been Rian's nurse while she had been in bed. The nurse had been pissed when she found that Rian had gotten up but she ended up forgiving her when Rian had fed the pitiful story about panic attacks and how her family members were the only ones that could calm her down.

Rian turned her head into Sam's chest, unable to watch the scene before her. Sam tightened his grip on her waist.

"Come on, come on" Sam prayed quietly

"All clear?"

* * *

"Get the hell away from me." Dean yelled when he sees a gray, fugly, spirit right over his body. "Stay back!"

He'd noticed immediately when his 'body' had begun to disappear.

"There's no change." The nurse said

"Starting cpr." The doctor replied, all business

"I said get back!" Dean yelled running over to the thing. He grabbed it but the monster or spirit or whatever escaped, dissipating into the air. Dean took a deep breath. He certainly felt more solid now.

"Still nothing." The nurse said after they started CPR

"We have a pulse." Another nurse announced. "We're back into sinus rhythm."

"Don't worry, Sammy." Rian said at the exact same time that Dean does. Dean looked at her in shock only to see that she was watching Sam breathe heavily, "He's gonna be alright, I swear it."

Dean caught her voice wavering at the end. He was surprised at the guilt he felt. Guilt over the way that he had been treating Rian. He could see now that she was trying her hardest. If anyone knew that life was shitty it was the Winchester family, surely he could relate to Rian somehow.

"I'm not going anywhere." Dean continued when Rian was done, "I'm getting that thing before it gets me. It's some kind of spirit, but I could grab it. And if I can grab it, I can kill it."

"Can't you see me?!" Dean heard someone yell, he swore then left Sam and Rian to their chick flick moment before running to where he heard the voice from "Why won't you look at me?! Now what? Somebody talk to me! Say something, please!"

On the stairs was a young woman with shoulder length straight black hair. She was trying to get someone's attention but no one noticed her. Dean ran up the stairs to her.

"Can you see me?" He breathed when he stopped in front of the girl

"Yeah." The girl assured

"Alright, just calm down." Dean said "What's your name?"

"Tessa." She told him quietly, like she couldn't believe that Dean could actually see her.

"Okay, good, Tessa." Dean gave Tessa a small smile, "I'm Dean."

"What's happening to me?" Tessa asked "Am I… Am I dead?"

"That sort of depends." Dean said

They wandered the hospital looking for Tessa's room. When they found it the waited outside, watching an older woman, Tessa's mom, hold the girl's hand.

"I don't understand." Tessa announced after a moment, glancing at Dean "I just came in for an appendectomy."

"I hate to bear bad news," Dean smiled sadly for a moment "but I think there were some complications."

"It's just a dream, that's all." Tessa reasoned, turning from the room with her arms wrapped around her stomach "This is just a very weird, unbelievably vivid dream."

"Tessa, it's not a dream." Dean said gently to the distraught Tessa.

"Then what else could it be?" Tessa asked

"You ever heard of an out-of-body experience?" Dean asked with a shrug

"What are you, some new-agey guy?" Tessa scoffed

"You see me messing with crystals or listening to Yanni? It's actually a very old idea." Dean explained "It's got a lot of different names. Bilocation, Crisis apparitions, fetches. I think it's happening to us. If it is it means that we're spirits of people close to death."

"So we're gonna die?" Tessa asked, looking like she's about to cry

"No." Dean said, as if trying to convince himself "Not if we hold on. Our bodies can get better.

You can snap right back in there and wake up"

They wandered around for a while, looking in on rooms, rather sadly. Tessa seemed to calm down after the fifth lecture and Dean couldn't help but smile.

"I got to say, I'm impressed." Dean remarked

"With what?" Tessa asked

"You." He replied simply, "Most people in your spot would be jello by now, but you're taking this pretty well. Maybe a little better than me."

"Don't get me wrong, I was pretty freaked at first." Tessa explained, "But now I don't know. Maybe I'm dealing."

"So you're okay with dying?" Dean asked, surprised, and a little suspicious

"No, of course not." Tessa scoffed, "I just think whatever's gonna happen is gonna happen.

It's out of my control. It's just Fate."

"That's crap." Dean growled, "You always have a choice. You can either roll over and die, you can keep fighting no matter what"

"Room 237." Dean heard, "Code blue. Dr. Christie"

"Dean, where are you going?" Tessa called when Dean started to run towards room 237

"Just wait here." Dean called behind him.

"Give me another amp oepi, please." A nurse said, standing over a little girl. The nurse had short blonde hair that was pulled back into a ponytail. She was wearing pale blue scrubs and looked extremely tired.

"Get away from her!" Dean yelled at the reaper over the girl's body.

"Still nothing." The nurse remarked sadly

"Alright." The doctor said, the older man that was also Dean's doctor "Let's call it. Time of death"

"At least she's not suffering anymore." Dean heard the doctor say, but he was not really paying attention to them anymore.

* * *

Rian sat with Dean, holding his limp hand tightly in her own. She could feel tears start to form and blinked them away. She didn't want anyone to see her crying.

"Hey Dean-o" Rian said quietly, "I know you're around, I remember that much. I don't know where you are right now though. If you're here I just wanted to let you know that I'll do my best to fix this. I just-" She let a few tears fall, being careful to keep her face shielded, "I'm just not sure how much I can do. In case you hadn't noticed, I'm not a hunter, like you John and Sam. I don't know how to save lives. And even if I did, I can barely stand up without help."

She lapsed into silence. There was no point in talking if she didn't even know whether or not Dean was even there to hear her.

The room had cleared when Sam returned from getting the ouija board from where he'd left it in John's room. Luckily the old man had been sleeping so he had avoided more confrontation. Sam set the bag down then walked over to help Rian from her chair.

Rian groaned as she was lowered to the floor next to Sam. Neither of them said anything while Sam set up the ouija board and let Rian lean against him.

"Dean? Dean, are you here?" Sam asked, placing his hand on the triangle piece that was supposedly supposed to move when someone, a ghost or some such thing, was present.

"God, I feel like I'm at a slumber party." Rian said, in her best Dean voice. She smirked a little when Sam looked at her, "I know what he's going to say. Sam. I don't know why but I remember this part more than most." She was lying, of course, she'd watched this part at least four times. It was a quality conversation.

"Okay, so what is Dean supposed to say?" Sam asked, a little skeptic, despite Rian's protests, that Dean was even there.

"All right, Sam. This isn't gonna work." Rian impersonated Dean, she turned to where Dean should have been sitting by now. "I know you're there Dean, let the skeptic know."

The triangle piece moved and Rian laughed at Sam's shocked, and slightly hopeful, expression.

"I'll be damned." She said, in her Dean voice.

"Oh, it's good to hear from you, man." Sam gushed "It hasn't been the same without you, Dean."

"Dean, what?" Sam said, startled when the triangle starts to move "'H' 'U' 'Hunt'? What, 'hunting'? Are you hunting? Dean, it's in the hospital, what you're hunting? Do you know what it is?"

"One question at a time, dude." Rian said, putting a hand on Sam's knee. He looked at the hand for a split second but was otherwise focused on the board.

"What is it?" Sam asked

"A reaper" Rian said before the piece could move. The piece moved to the 'yes' spot on the board.

"Is it after you?" The piece stayed where it is, Sam sighed "If it's here naturally, there's no way to stop it."

"Yeah, you can't kill death." Rian remarked, knowing what Dean was going to say was entertaining even if Rian was stressed by the situation.

"Man, you're, uh" Sam stopped

"I'm screwed, Sam." Rian said, "Says Dean" She added when Sam glared at her.

"No." Sam said standing up "No, no, no. There's got to be a way. There's got to be a way. Dad will know what to do."

Rian watched as Sam left the room. She looked at the chair by the bed and considered crawling to it but she was in too much pain to move. She'd tried not to let on to Sam but her meds had worn off and the pain was working it's way back into her system.

"You still here Dean?" Rian asked, the piece shifted a little but otherwise stayed on the 'yes'.

"Are you still mad at me?" Rian asked, the piece moved to the 'no'. Rian gaped in shock. "Well, hold on to that feeling for when I inevitably fail to change anything."

"So, dad wasn't in his room." Sam said, almost angrily, when he entered Dean's room, "anything you want to tell me Rian?"

"Not particularly," Rian said, "though I wouldn't mind getting some help up."

"Sure." Sam said, his voice gentler, "I got dad's journal, maybe he has something in here."

Sam lead Rian to a chair and then sat down, leaning against the bed. While he read the journal Rian rested her head on her arms, watching Dean breath. After a bit Sam leaned against her good leg. Rian started to absentmindedly run her fingers through his hair.

"Gross," Rian could have sworn she heard Dean say.

"Hey Sammy," Rian said, sitting up suddenly, "I need to use the restroom."

"And?" Sam asked, not looking up.

"And you're leaning on my leg." Rian pointed out, "I'd just push you off but I'm not exactly the most capable person right now."

"Shit," Sam said, bolting upright, "sorry Fin."

"What is it with you people and the nicknames?" Rian whined, standing up.

"Don't get lost." Sam called as she walked out the room. Rian flipped him a finger before disappearing around the corner.

* * *

Rian carefully made her way down to the basement. She figured she'd be too late but she knew that she had to try. If she was being honest with herself she knew she should have just told Sam what John was planning. However, that would force Sam to choose between his father and his brother and Rian didn't want to force him into that position.

So instead she was going to take the choice away from him. She was going to let John Winchester make his deal. Even if it nearly broke her heart to do so.

After five minutes of maneuvering herself as painlessly as possible down the stairs Rian reached her final roadblock: a door. She cursed everything that led her to that door. And she cursed the diligent janitor that had locked the door not even ten minutes earlier, after John Winchester had already walked in.

Rian leaned against the wall then slowly sank to the ground. She felt like kicking something but she didn't want to aggravate her wounds more than she already had.

"I fucking messed up again." Rian grunted, tears rolling down her face. "Why am I here if I can't do anything? Can't change anything? I can't even find it in myself to tell them what I know."

She bit down on her shirt to muffle her sobs. Not even five minutes ago she had accepted that John Winchester was going to sell his soul. Yet, here she was, panicking because John Winchester was currently selling his soul and there was nothing Rian could do to stop him.

Rian heard the door open but she didn't look up from the ground. She had stopped crying after an hour of waiting and had been observing the patterns on the tile since then. She might have dozed off at some point but she couldn't really tell.

"Did you do it?" She asked, her voice empty of emotion.

John nodded but Rian still wasn't looking at him, he cleared his throat, "I can't let him die, Fin." John said, his voice cracking, "I have to do what I can to protect my son."

"You do know he's going to hate himself for this." Rian said, finally looking up, "He'll blame himself for it even though it's not his fault at all."

"Its m-"

"If you say it's your fault, Winchester, I'll kick you into next week." Rian said with a weak glare, "If it's anyone's fault it's God's. Now, would you help me up?"

"God is real then?" John asked, helping Rian stand up.

"I mean, if demons are real then why not angels? And by that thinking if angels are real then why not god? And then you get to the devil and the hierarchy of both heaven and hell and it's enough to give you a headache that lasts for years." Rian said absently as she limped up the stairs with the help of John.

"Oh." John said, but otherwise remained silent, processing everything Rian had told him.

"Y'know John, they're gonna be fine." Rian said when they had finally made it to the top of the stairs, "you trained them well and they'll learn the things you couldn't teach them. Now, you were a shitty father at times, but that's alright, you were there for them when it really mattered and-"

John pulled Rian into a hug, forcing her to stop rambling. She squeezed him as tight as possible, willing herself to get as much from this hug as she could possibly get.

"You're the daughter I never knew I wanted." John said, surprising Rian with a kiss to the forehead.

"You're the smelly old fart who I never thought I'd have for a father." Rian told him with a laugh. "Now, you need to say goodbye to your sons."

* * *

The progress to Dean's room was slow going. Rian cringed with every step and eventually John crouched in front of her with a roll of his eyes.

"Hop on." He said, "at this rate I'll never talk to them again."

"Sorry," Rian said with a sniffle.

She clambered onto John back and held on loosely as the man rose to a standing position.

"Did you give Sam piggy back rides?" Rian asked curiously.

"Once," John said fondly, "We were in Tennessee, I'd just finished a hunt and he had a fever."

"That's pleasant." Rian teased.

"I know, I should have been for them more," John said guiltily, "but I was so blinded, I still am I think. Take care of them for me, Fin."

"I'll do what I can, but they take after you when it comes to being stubborn." Rian said as John lowered her to the ground in front of Dean's room.

"Don't I know it." John muttered before walking to the door, Rian hobbling right behind him.

"I can't explain it." The doctor was saying when they stopped outside the door, "The edema has vanished. The internal contusions are healed. Your vitals are good. You got to have some kind of angel watching over you."

Dean was sitting up in his bed with Sam standing right next to him, watching his brother in awe. As the doctor turned to leave John and Rian stepped in the room. Rian was looking at the ground, refusing to make eye contact with anyone.

"Thanks, doc." Sam called after the doctor as he left the room.

"You said a reaper was after me?" Dean asked, obviously continuing a conversation he and Sam had started earlier

"Yeah." Sam said, helping Rian sit in one of the chairs.

"How did I ditch it?" Dean asked eyeing Rian

"You got me." Sam said with a little laugh shaking his head

"Rian?" Dean said, wondering why the girl wasn't looking at them.

"I can't tell you right now." Rian said calmer than she feels, "I know what happened but telling you now won't change anything. You'll get pissed at me and you'll break your promise. Just know that I tried, Dean, I really did. But I can't change anything."

"Dean, you really don't remember anything?" Sam asked, drawing his brothers attention away from a distraught Rian.

"No." Dean said with a shrug, "Except this Pit in my stomach. Sam, something's wrong."

Rian started to talk, she was prepared to share everything, when John walked over from his spot by the door.

"How you feeling, dude?" John asked when he stopped in front of Dean.

"Fine, I guess." Dean shrugged, "I'm alive. That's what matters."

"Where were you last night?" Sam questioned eyeing the duo with suspicion

"I had some things to take care of." They say at the same time. Rian grinned weakly at John who smiled grimly back at her.

"Well, that's specific." Sam said throwing his arms up in exasperation. He was getting tired of John's attitude and it wasn't helping that Rian was playing along with him.

"Come on, Sam." Dean groaned, not wanting them to argue when he had just woken up from a miraculous recovery.

"Did you go after the demon?" Sam growled at his dad and Rian

"No." John lied

"You know, why don't I believe you right now?" Sam yelled throwing his arms out again.

Rian reached up and grabbed Sam's hand, pulling it down to her chest. She started to play with his fingers in a manner that he found oddly soothing.

"Can we not fight?" John pleaded, he smiled his thanks at Rian "You know, half the time we're fighting, I don't know what we're fighting about. We're just butting heads. Look, Sammy, I've- I've made some mistakes. But I've always done the best I could. I just don't want to fight anymore, okay?"

"Dad, are you alright?" Sam asked, suddenly worried about his father's complexion.

"Yeah." John said, "Yeah, I'm just a little tired. Hey, son, would you mind, uh would you mind getting me a cup of caffeine? Could you take Rian with ya too. She needs food."

"She's also right here and can speak for herself." Rian said with a half-hearted glare as she used Sam's arm to lift herself from the chair.

"Yeah." Sam said, helping Rian out of the room. "Yeah, sure."

* * *

Eventually the two made it to the Cafe. Rian ordered a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a cup of Chai tea. Sam ordered a coffee for John and himself. While they wait for the food Rian selected a table and sat down warily. She really needed to get pain meds soon. The pull of stitches and the throb in her leg were beginning to be too much.

Rian didn't look away from the window when Sam sat down. She knew that if she looked at him she would start to break down. Rian needed to be strong for the Winchester's, she'd promised John that she'd try and that was what she was going to do.

She couldn't take the silence anymore.

"Sam, you need to go back, now." Rian said urgently, looking up at a startled Sam, "no questions just go, I can make it back on my own."

Sam stood up with John's coffee and tossed his own out on the way to the door. Rian followed at a slower pace, not wanting to ruin any of the hard work her body was putting into healing itself.

She was definitely in need of pain meds.

When Rian made it up to the floor Sam and Dean were already standing outside John's room. Rian quickly made her way to them and watched in silence as the nurses and doctors worked uselessly to restart John Winchester's heart.

"Okay." The doctor said, "Let's try again. An amp of atropine."

"Come on" Dean whispered, urging John to miraculously wake up. Rian leaned against his side, offering him what comfort she could.

"Okay." The doctor said again, "Stop compression."

"Come on, come on." Both boys repeated. Rian remained silent.

"Still no pulse." a nurse announced

"Okay." The doctor said, coming to a final decision "That's it, everybody. I'll call it."

He checked his watch.

"Time of death, 10:41 A.M."

* * *

A/N: Remember when I said I'd post once a month until I was caught up on the editing? Remember how this is my third or fourth post this week?

Yeah, I'm currently only one chapter ahead.

Shrugs.

I'm posting this to celebrate not completely failing my Chem midterm! I know I got at least two questions right! Any how I'll probably post again some time next week.

Enjoy, please don't be afraid to review, I love getting reviews. I want to give a shout out to emelie.95a for reviewing on almost half the chapters! And another shout out to Happygoddess2003 for also reviewing! Review make the world go 'round.

-Ryn


	9. Dean Winchester Learns a Lesson

**Bloodlust**

Dean was restless and Rian had to say that she wasn't surprised. It had been five days since the trio had given John Winchester a proper hunter's burial. Rian understood Dean's need to move on, really she did, but she wasn't quite physically able.

"Y'know what." Rian said loudly, the fifth time Dean turned to look at her, as if assessing her physical condition, "Why don't you two go on a hunt or something. I'm perfectly okay with sitting in a motel room on my own."

"Bu-" Sam started to protest but Rian interrupted him.

"No ifs, ands, or buts. You two are getting on my nerves with your pacing and your hopeful looks like my body is going to grow sudden healing abilities or some shit like that." Rian said with a glare, "You two are going to find yourselves a hunt and give me some peace and quiet."

Honestly, Rian was surprised when the two complied. The day after they had burned John's body no one had spoken. Then she and Dean had gotten into an argument about something insignificant. After that everything had gone back to almost normal. But Rian knew that Dean was going to blow.

"Alright," Dean said, quickly exiting the room. He came back with a phone in hand, Rian recognized it as John's phone. "He's got a voicemail."

"From who?" Sam asked, standing up and walking over to listen to the message.

"Someone called Ellen?" Dean said, looking up at Rian, "You know about this chick?"

"Ellen Harvelle," Rian said, standing up and walking over to the boys, "Owns a roadhouse somewhere in Nebraska, should be in Jo- John's journal."

Dean nodded and went to retrieve the journal. After flipping through a few pages he seemed to find something. He wrote down an address then gently put the journal away.

"Let's hit the road then." Dean said, grabbing both his own bag and Rian's. Normally Rian would have protested but she had to worry about getting her own ass out to the car before Dean drove off without it.

* * *

Rian had opted to stay with the Harvelle's rather than spend her time alone in a grimy motel room. For most of the hunt that Sam and Dean went on, a hunt she vaguely remembered being called _Everyone Loves a Clown,_ Rian had sat around the bar impatiently. Sometimes she'd talk to Jo or Ash but most of the time was spent in a corner with a journal in front of her and a pen in her hands.

She was taking a break from writing when her phone rang, it was Sam.

"Hey, we're on our way back now," Sam told her, "how you holding up?"

"Did you know there are more ways to say boring than bored in the English language?" Rian said with a small smile, "I'm fine Sam, I've been writing down what I can remember from the show. Who knows, it might actually be helpful at some point."

"Probably," Sam agreed, "how're your injuries?"

"Almost good as new," Rian said, it was true, she could walk normally and her stitches were gone. Her arm was still in a cast but that would heal in the next few weeks.

"Good, good." Sam said distractedly.

"How you doing, Sammy?" Rian asked, "How was the hunt? Run into any clowns?"

"Not you too," Sam groaned, Rian could hear a thump that indicated he had thrown his head back against the seat, "I am not going to deal with you and Dean making fun of me for this."

Rian grinned, "Fine, I'll find something else then, Samantha."

"Fin." Sam warned

"Alright, alright," Rian conceded with a chuckle, "How far out are you guys?"

"Just a couple hours, should be there by seven." Sam told her.

"Alright, well, I'm gonna go talk to Jo, see you two soon then." Rian said before hanging up.

* * *

The first thing they did after leaving was go to Bobby's. Dean needed a little time to work on getting Baby back into better shape and Sam just needed a little time. This time it was Rian that suffered from cabin fever.

"What has got you so anxious?" Sam asked on Rian's fifth lap around the house.

"I don't know," Rian said, coming to a stop in front of Sam, "I just feel anxious, I need something to do."

"Like what?" Dean asked, looking up from his spot at Bobby's desk where he was taking a break from working on Baby.

"If I knew I wouldn't be so damned anxious." Rian nearly whined, flopping on the couch next to Sam but immediately standing up again.

The brothers shared a look that went unnoticed by Rian. She was pacing around the house again, tidying up things as she walked by. Bobby had learned quickly not to get in her way. When he'd tried to stop her she had nearly backhanded him.

"That's it." Dean said, standing from Bobby's chair with a grunt, "we're going on a hunt."

"Finally!" Rian yelled before running to get her bag. The brothers exchanged another look but neither of them commented on Rian's strange behavior.

* * *

"What's on your mind Fin?" Sam asked after they had been driving for an hour. He noticed that as soon as they were in the impala Rian had relaxed significantly.

"Well, unless you guys want a mystery I can fill you in on this case. No one dies, Dean learns things. You guys fight. Nothing unusual." Rian smiled, "So you wanna know?"

Two days after John's burning Rian had talked with Sam, Dean, and Bobby and they decided that it was Rian's call on whether or not to tell the boys something and if she didn't then she'd have permission to punch them if they got mad at her.

"You're choice Fin." Dean reminded her, looking at her in the rearview.

"Yeah, I know," She sighed dramatically, "It's just that Dean's gonna make some mistakes but I think they're important ones"

"Why am I gonna make mistakes?" Dean asked, "Why not Sam?"

"You're gonna discuss right and wrong with an asshole." Rian said, smirking. She didn't remember the exact details of the hunt but she remembered the gist of it.

"Ok, but why?" Dean emphasized the 'why' in his question.

"Because." Rian said, "I mean, who knows, the show could be entirely wrong."

"Fine," Dean said with a grunt "be that way."

"I will"

Sam sighed, "Anything else on your mind?"

"Yeah," Rian said leaning over the front seat and looking sideways at first Sam and then Dean, "I wanna learn how to hunt." Dean looked at Rian and she continued before he can interrupt, "I'm not going to be a burden to you guys forever. I can do the research stuff just fine but I need to actually learn how to hunt so that I can protect myself in the event of us getting separated. I also want to be better able to actually help you guys. You're all the family I got."

Dean looked like he was about to argue and then sighed, "Fine, whatever." Rian leaned back, grinning at her triumph.

They were quiet for the next hundred miles and then Dean broke the silence.

"Listen to her purr." Dean cooed, "You ever heard anything so sweet?"

"If you two want to get a room, just let me know, Dean." Sam said with a scoff

"Oh, don't listen to him, baby." Dean said, petting the dashboard of the car. "He doesn't understand."

"You're in a good mood." Rian commented,

"Why shouldn't I be?" Dean asked

"No reason." Rian said, looking out the

"I got my car, I got a case." Dean smiled "Things are looking up."

"You hear of a couple of severed heads and a pile of dead cows, and you're Mr.

Sunshine." Sam joked

"How far to Red Lodge?" Rian asked shifting in her seat.

"Uh, about another 300 miles." Sam replied

"Good." Rian said, leaning back in her seat and closing her eyes.

* * *

After a stop at a diner for a late breakfast the trio decide that their best course is to interrogate the sheriff of Red Lodge. Before doing that they checked into a motel so that they could store their belongings and get changed.

Rian donned a black pantsuit with a white blouse. She considered wearing heels then thought better of it. She'd probably end up falling and breaking her other arm. Instead she put her boots back on and covered them with her pant legs, hoping that no one would notice.

She'd gotten Jo to fix her hair so that it looked more natural. The sides were shaved into an undercut, leaving the top longer and curly. It was a hairstyle that was more popular in the next decade but she figured it wouldn't be too out of style.

"The murder investigation is ongoing, and that's all I can share with the press at this time." The sheriff said glaring at the three of them. The sheriff was old, he had black hair speckled with gray, gray sideburns, and a mustache that looked like someone pulled it right off of one of the popular mustache merchandise. His head was round and he looked like every moment of his day is spent in an angry mood.

"Sure, sure, we understand that." Dean said with a smile "But just for the record, you found the first uh dead last week, correht?" The sheriff nodded "Okay, and the other, a Christina Flannigan?"

"That was two days ago." The sheriff confirmed

"Excuse me, Sir." A secretary with long blond hair said popping her head into the room. She pointed at her watch, indicating that he was late for something.

"Thank you." The sheriff said to the woman sitting up straight. "Sorry, boys, time's up.

We're done here."

"One last question." Rian said, panicking when neither Sam nor Dean moved to say anything "What about the cattle?"

"Excuse me?" The sheriff asked, eyeing Rian with disapproval. It was probably the hair, though Rian found she felt more badass with the new do.

"You know, the cows found dead, Split open, drained over a dozen cases." Rian continued calmer now that she knew he wasn't going to bolt.

"What about them?"

"So, you don't think there's a connection?" Sam asked, understanding the connection that Rian had made.

"Connection with" The sheriff asked, prolonging the question with a wave of his hand.

"First, Cattle mutilations now, two murders?" Rian continued "Kind of sounds like ritual stuff. You know, like satanic cult ritual stuff."

"You're not kidding." The sheriff asked, "Are you even old enough to be a reporter? You look like you're 15?"

"I'm an intern, sir. They told me I'd get paid extra for asking these questions." Rian shrugged, "If you could answer them?"

"Those cows aren't being mutilated." the Sheriff said vehemently and Rian raised an eyebrow, "You want to know how I know?"

"How?" Rian said, almost as a challenge. She did not appreciate the way she was being spoken to.

"Because there's no such thing as cattle mutilation. Cow drops, leave it in the sun, Within 48 hours the bloat will split it open so clean It's just about surgical. The bodily fluids fall down into the ground, get soaked up, because that's what gravity does." The man shrugged "But, hey, it could be Satan."

The three of them shared a look before turning their attention back to the sheriff. Rian hadn't quite gotten his name.

"What newspaper did you say you worked for?" The sheriff asked.

"World Weekly News." Dean said at the same time that Sam says, "Weekly World News."

"World" Dean glanced at Sam

"Weekly world." Rian said finally

"Get out of my office." The sheriff yelled at them.

They complied, sharing smirks that went unnoticed by the sheriff.

* * *

"How'd you know what to ask, Fin?" Sam asked when they'd made it to the impala.

"I've seen this all before, Sam. You guys weren't fast enough so I panicked." Rian shrugged, "The guy's a dick anyway. Kinda fun to watch him squirm."

Sam looked at Dean, "You're rubbing off on her." He accused with furrowed brows.

"Good." Dean replied with a smirk.

They head to the morgue of the local hospital next and Rian can't help but shudder. At least she was not going have to look at the head. They didn't know how to get all three of them in as reporters but Rian came up with the plan that after remembering that the doctor was out for awhile.

Dean opened a door to reveal an intern. He looked at the name tag and guessed what the man's first name was.

"John."

"Jeff." The man corrected

"Jeff, I know that." Dean smiled as he continued "Dr. Dorkin needs to see you in his office right away."

"But Dr. Dorkin's on vacation." Jeff informed the group, confused.

"He's back, and he's pissed, and he's screaming for you, man." Dean said with a helpless shrug "So, if I were you, I would" Dean gestured out the door.

Jeff scrambled out the door. The trio made their way to the morgue and the brothers walked in while Rian stayed by the door. She was interested in seeing the head but the brothers didn't believe her when she had said she would be fine.

"Hey, those Satanists in Florida, they marked their victims, didn't they?" Dean asked pulling the tray out of its spot.

"Yeah, reverse pentacle on the forehead." Sam said removing the container with the head from the tray and placing it on a table. Rian looked on with interest but did not leave her spot.

"So much of that crap happens in Florida." Dean grumbled

"All right." Dean said looking at the container, "Open it."

"You open it." Sam said, looking squeamish and so much unlike the 6'6 giant he was that Rian had to laugh.

"Wuss." Dean grumbled, he didn't move to open the container.

"If you guys were going to be so squeamish about this you should have just told me." Rian said, finally leaving her post. She picked up a pair of unused gloves as she passed a box of them and slipped them on. Rian grabbed the container and opened it up revealing a brunette with a missing body.

The smell was putrid but it was nothing that Rian wasn't used to from her time at the police station. On a few occasions she had been allowed down in the morgue after a homicide to look at the victim. Her co-workers had known, and understood, Rian's interest in those particular victims.

"Well, no pentagram." Dean said after a moment.

"Poor girl." Sam added

"Maybe we should, uh, look in her mouth, see if this wacko stuffed anything down her throat," Dean suggested, looking between Rian and Sam "you know, kind of like the moth in "Silence of the Lambs"."

"I can tell you what you'll find." Rian said, crossing her arms, the men look at her gratefully, "I could also not."

"Please, Fin," Dean begged, "I don't wanna touch that thing."

"That's a person, Dean." Sam scolded, he also looked relieved.

Rian smirked, "You guys do this for a living, it's not even that bad." They both gave her their best puppy-dog eyes. "Fine, she's a vamp."

Both Sam and Dean looked at the head then back to Rian, "What?" Dean asked, trying to make sure he heard Rian correctly.

"A vampire. You know, retractable fangs, sucks blood." Rian said lazily waving her hand, "As good of hunters as you two were I'd assumed you'd know what vampires were."

"Yeah, we know what a vampire is," Dean said, slightly offended, "Are you sure she's a vampire?"

"Positive." She replied, she picked up the head and showed them the teeth. "Now you don't have to stick your hand down her throat Sammy."

"Thank god for that." Sam muttered, covering the head back up after Rian had set it down.

"Well, this changes things." Dean grumbled.

"You think?" Sam scoffed.

"Well now we know someone's killing vamps." Rian said, removing her gloves and tossing them in the trash before washing her hands in the available faucet.

* * *

On the way back to their motel Sam and Dean decide to go to a local pub, Rian decides that she'd rather spend her time at the motel then at a bar. She wasn't much for drinking or crowded places and a pub in a place like this was bound to get some evening traffic.

"Yea yea yea," Rian scoffed when the boys were ready to leave the room, "You've gone over this twenty times in the last two minutes I'm surprised you guys can breathe still. I'll be fine. Go enjoy your boy's night I wanna catch up on a few things."

She was referring to the books she had borrowed from Bobby before they had left for the case. Sure, she knew a lot, but it wasn't going to be enough in the coming how ever long she was stuck there. She didn't know where to start to find her way back home but she figured Bobby's books were as good as anything to find some sort of lead. Even if she found nothing then at least she knew more than she did before she started reading.

When the boys had finally left Rian took out one of the books and skimmed through it for a bit before pulling out the journal and her laptop. She plugged the thing in then pulls out her phone to check the messages. The phone that had travelled with her across the worlds was tucked into a secret compartment in her backpack that Sam had sewn in while they were on a hunt a few months back.

She had one message from Bobby, one from Ellen, and two from Jo. Rian was surprised that Bobby had messaged her. She was sure that the man didn't actually like her.

 _Update me on the hunts, Fin._ Was the message she got from Bobby.

Rian smiled and sent a quick text to them explaining what they knew so far and a little of what was gonna happen, nothing about the little hunter friend that Dean was going to make. That was for Dean to tell when all this was over.

 _Let me know if I can help. Don't let those boys get you killed. -Ellen_

Rian smirked, she understood why Ellen disliked the boys a little even if she didn't agree with it. Everyone makes mistakes and a dead man's mistakes should be forgiven. And they definitely shouldn't be taken up by his sons.

 _I can handle myself fine. They aren't as bad as you seem to think- Rian_

 _Come back. My mom's been insufferable and worried since you left. -Jo_

 _It's really bad. Please come back soon. - Jo_

Rian grinned at those. She and Jo had gotten pretty close in the three days that Rian had been there. The friendship that had formed had surprised Rian but she welcomed it. Rian frowned a little when she remembers the fate that awaits all three of them and she sighed. Her life here was getting more complicated and they were barely into season two.

 _You'll be fine, Jo. I promise to visit when I can. You'll be seeing more of me than the boys tho. -Rian_

Rian did some research to cross check some websites with the books. She spent three hours on an interactive website about vampires. While very little of the information was actually accurate she did find it childishly entertaining.

She spent two more hours cross referencing her own journal, one that she had gotten from Bobby, with John's journal and the books. She was just finishing up writing about wendigos when Sam walked in.

"How'd it go?" She asked when Sam sat down at the table with her.

"We met another hunter, Gordon Walker. We followed him to a warehouse and Dean beheaded a vamp." Sam sighed folding his hands together in front of himself on the table and Rian looked up at him, "I know it's our job to kill monsters, but the ones that look human have always been hard for me."

Rian laid one of her hands on his and smiled when Sam looked at him, "Gordon Walker is a shitty person," Rian said, "Call Ellen and she'd confirm. You're allowed to not like parts of your job, Sam. Just remember that part of the family business is the saving people, it's not all killing things."

Sam did just that, pulling out his phone and standing up to pace at the same time.

"Hey, Ellen." Sam said, somewhat nervously, like he was expecting Ellen to bite his head off. "Sam Winchester." pause "Yeah, yeah, everything's fine. "Got a question." pause "You ever run across a guy named Gordon Walker?" Pause "And?" pause "We ran into him on a job. We're kind of working with him." Pause "I thought you said he was a good hunter." Sam glanced at Rian, his eyebrows raised "Ellen" pause "Right, okay."

"So?" Rian asked when Sam said nothing.

"You were right." Sam said, "He's not safe."

Rian watched as Sam walked to the door with a raised eyebrow.

"Where you goin'?" She asked curiously, with a tilt to her head.

"To get something to drink." Sam said, "you want anything?"

"I've been in here for five hours, I'll come with." Rian offered, standing up and following Sam to the vending machine.

"What exactly were you doing for these five hours?" Sam asked when they reached the vending machine.

Rian blushed a little, "I was supposed to be cross checking stuff that I got from the show with actual information."

"And what did you actually do?" Sam asked, grabbing his drink and then moving aside so that Rian could get her own.

"I found an interactive website about vampires and spent three hours on it." Rian muttered as she bent down to get her own cola.

"You what?" Sam asked, having not caught what she said.

"I found an interactive website on vampires and spent three hours on it." Rian repeated, this time so that Sam could hear.

He didn't stop laughing for five minutes. Rian was hoping that he'd get hiccups but apparently the hunter was immune.

"I can't believe you." Sam guffawed when he was finally able to talk, "Was any of it accurate?"

"Only if vampires are afraid of garlic." Rian told him as they started towards the room.

"And you spent three hours on it?" Sam questioned with a smirk.

"Yes, now would you shut up about it." Rian grumbled, shoving Sam out of the way so that she could let them back in the room.

* * *

Neither of them were expecting anyone to jump out of their room at them. They were prepared for something from the side and back at all times but there was no reason to worry about anyone coming in from their room.

Which was how the vamps had gotten the jump on Sam and Rian.

Rian woke with the beginnings of a massive headache. She had definitely been knocked out and she was going to pay for it.

"Sam," Rian grumbled, not quite able to control her speech, "Sam?"

She heard a Sam-esque grunt and felt Sam's long hair brush the top of her head and let out a sigh of relief.

"Can someone get this blindfold off?" Rian asked when she was sure that Sam was alright, "I'm gettin' a li'l bit claustrophobic here."

She jumped a little when cool hands ghosted past her face but relaxed when the blindfold was off. Rian looked around to see three people standing around the room. One of them was removing Sam's blindfold but they were getting too close and personal for either of the human's personal taste.

"Wait! Step back, Eli." Another vampire, one with longer dark hair and a slim figure, said when she saw what Eli was doing.

"My name's Lenore." The vampire said walking over to Sam and removing his gag. "I'm not gonna hurt you. We just need to talk."

"Talk?" Sam asked sarcastically, "Yeah, okay. But I might have a tough time paying attention to much besides Eli's teeth."

"He won't hurt you, either." Lenore said, "You have my word."

"Your word? Oh, yeah, great, thanks." Sam glared at Lenore "Listen, lady, no offense, but you're not the first vampire I've met."

"We're not like the others." Lenore said, "We don't kill humans, and we don't drink their blood.

We haven't for a long time."

"What is this? Some kinda joke?" Sam scoffed

"Notice you're still alive." Lenora said sarcastically.

"Okay, uh, correct me if I'm wrong here, but shouldn't you be starving to death?" Sam asked, after checking to make sure Rian was actually okay.

"We found other ways." Lenora said. She continued at Sam's obvious confusion, "Cattle blood."

"You're telling me you're responsible for all the-" Sam started

"It's not ideal." Lenora interrupted, "In fact, it's disgusting. But it allows us to get by."

"Okay." Sam acknowledged, "Uh, why?"

"Survival." Lenora stated simply "No deaths, no missing locals, no Reason for people like you to come looking for people like us. And we blend in. Our kind is practically extinct. It turns out we weren't as high up the food chain as we imagined."

"Why are we explaining ourselves to this killer?" Eli growled, showing his fangs.

"Eli." Lenora scolded, silencing the other vampire, "We choke on cow's blood so that none of them suffer."

"Tonight, they murdered Conrad, and they celebrated." Eli told Lenora, as if the woman didn't already know that.

"Eli, that's enough." Lenora ordered, scowling at Eli.

"Yeah, Eli, that's enough." Sam mocked, much to Eli's anger.

"What's done is done." Lenora told Eli before turning back to Sam "We're leaving this town tonight."

"Then, why did you bring us here?" Sam asked "Why are you even talking to us?"

"Believe me, I'd rather not." Lenora said, "But I know your kind. Once you have the scent, you'll keep tracking us. It doesn't matter where we go. Hunters will find us."

"So you're asking us not to follow you." Sam

"We have a right to live." Lenora said, turning intelligent eyes on Rian who just shrugged, "We're not hurting anyone."

"Right, so you keep saying." Sam said, not believing a word they were saying, "But give me one good reason why I should believe you."

"Fine. You know what I'm going to do?" Lenora leaned over Sam, Rian was a little afraid that this night might not go as she had hoped when Lenora leaned back and said, "I'm going to let you go." She turned to Eli, "Take him back. Not a mark on him."

"What about her?" Sam asked, nodding his head to Rian.

"Her too," Lenore assured before moving to untie Rian herself.

* * *

Rian and Sam both heave a sigh of relief when they are out of the vampire's house, blindfolded as they may be. Rian tried to pay attention to the twists and turns they make on the way back but she lost track of both that and the amount of time it took. Her only hope was that Sam was actually able to remember the way back.

The bonds were removed for them when they reached the motel but Rian and Sam had to remove the blindfolds and gags themselves. Rian rubbed her wrists and looked at Sam who looked as uncertain as she was feeling.

"We need to convince Dean to let them go," Sam told her. "They haven't done anything."

He spoke as though he was trying to convince himself. Sam looked at Rian and Rian grinned back.

"Let's go then." Rian lead the way to their room and stepped aside so that Sam could unlock the door and be a potential buffer for anything that might pop out at them.

Rian saw Gordon and grimaced. She decided to stay behind Sam while he spoke with Dean.

"Where you been?" Dean asked when he saw Sam. He looked suspicious, as if they'd been out doing dirty deeds.

"Can we talk to you alone?" Rian asked, gesturing towards the door.

Dean stood nodding, "You mind chilling out for a couple of minutes?" Gordon nodded while eyeing Rian curiously. Dean followed Sam and Rian out the door.

"Dean, maybe we got to rethink this hunt." Sam said before he could lose what courage he had to confront Dean.

"What are you talking about?" Dean demanded, looking stunned, "Where were you?"

"In the nest." Rian informed Dean with her arms crossed, not caring much for his attitude at the moment.

"You found it?" Dean asked, looking mildly impressed

"They found us, man." Sam told him before explaining what had happened.

"How did you get out?" Dean asked, even more impressed "How many did you kill?"

"None." Sam said.

"Sam, they didn't just let you go." Dean informed Sam, like Sam himself hadn't been there.

"That's exactly what they did." Rian told Dean

"All right, well, where is it?" Dean said, crossing his arms like a fifteen year old girl in an argument with her parents.

"I was blindfolded." Sam told him, "I don't know."

"You got to know something."

"We went over that bridge outside of town," Rian informed them, as though she had figured that out on her own. Ha. Honestly, she had just remembered that.

"But Dean, listen, maybe we shouldn't go after them." Sam said, continuing from the line that he was supposed to say.

"Why not?" Dean asked, his eyes narrowing

"I don't think they're like other vampires." Sam explained "I don't think they're killing people."

"You're joking." Dean scoffed, "Then, how do they stay alive or undead or whatever the hell they are?"

"The cattle mutilations." Rian said, "practically vegetarian vampires."

"They said they live off of animal blood." Sam explained.

"And you believed them?" Dean scoffed.

"Look at us, Dean." Sam said throwing his arms out the way he does every time he's annoyed, "They let us go without a scratch."

"Wait, so you're saying," Dean paused "No, man. No way. I don't know why they let you go. I don't really care. We find them, and we waste them."

"Why?" Sam asked

"What part of vampires don't you understand, Sam?" Dean replied, "If it's supernatural, we kill it. End of story. That's our job."

"No, Dean that is not our job." Sam informed his older brother, "Our job is hunting evil. And if these things aren't killing people, they're not evil."

"Of course, they're killing people." Dean yelled, making Rian jump, "That's what they do. They're all the same, Sam. They're not human, okay? We have to exterminate every last one of them."

"No, Dean, I don't think so, all right?" Sam said, his arms out again, "Not this time."

"Gordon's been on those vamps for a year." Dean informed them, "He knows."

"Gordon?" Sam exclaimed "You're taking his word for it?"

"That's right." Dean said

"Ellen says he's bad news." Sam informed Dean.

"I say he's bad news," Rian added, but she was ignored.

"You called Ellen? And I'm supposed to listen to her?" Dean said incredulously, "We barely know her, Sam. No thanks. I'll go with Gordon."

"Would you listen to me?" Rian asked as Sam grumbled "Right, 'cause Gordon's such an old friend."

"You don't think I can see what this is?" Sam said, ignoring Rian, just as Dean had done.

"What are you talking about?" Dean asked

"He's a substitute for dad." Sam yelled "A poor one."

"Shut up, Sam." Dean demanded

Instead of being ignored Rian went to check on Gordon. She remembered that he went to the vampires lair ahead of them but she wasn't sure when he left. She returned to the room to find that he was already gone.

With a sigh Rian gathered the brother's belongings. Her things were already packed. She was gathering Dean's laundry when the man himself walked in, calling for Gordon.

"You think he went after them?" Dean asked, not looking at Rian.

"Yes." Rian said, standing up and shouldering her bag.

"Dean, we have to stop him." Sam said also lifting his back onto his shoulders.

"Really?" Dean asked "Cause I say we lend a hand."

"Well I say you're an idiot." Rian said pushing past Dean and out the door, Sam chuckled. "The least you could do is listen to your brother. For a man so bent on having people trust you, you sure have a difficult time trusting people back."

"She's got a point Dean," Sam said, "the least you could do is give me a chance."

"Yeah, we'll see." Dean told Sam, ignoring Rian's comment about trust.

"I'll drive." Sam said reaching his hand out , "Give me the keys."

"He snaked the keys." Dean told them after searching the room for the keys.

"I'm sure you know how to hotwire your own car." Rian said with a smirk as she waited for Dean to do so.

"I can't believe this. I just fixed her up, too." Dean said, smashing in the back window after several attempts to pick the lock had failed.

They were almost to the bridge when Dean spoke from the back where he had been banished by Rian.

"So, the bridge, is that all you got?" He asked.

"The bridge was 4 and 1/2 minutes from their farm." Sam said, looking at Dean in the rearview

"How do you know?" Dean asked, "I thought Rian was the one who knew about the bridge."

"I counted." Sam explained, "Took a left out of the farm, then turned right onto a dirt road, followed that for two minutes slightly uphill Then took another quick right, and we hit the bridge."

"You're good." Dean shook his head "You're a monster pain in the ass but you're good."

* * *

"Sam, Dean, come on in." Gordon said when they make it to the house, he turned to Rian with a leering expression that makes her shudder, "and who is this lovely lady."

"None of your business," Sam said, steering Rian away from Gordon and standing protectively between them. He also hadn't liked the way that Gordon had been looking at Rian.

"Gordon, what's going on?" Dean asked when he saw Lenore tied to a chair. Rian shuddered and glared a Gordon, leaning into Sam a little bit.

"Just poisoning Lenore here with some dead man's blood." Gordon stated, "She's gonna tell us where all her little friends are, aren't you?" He picked up a knife and traced it along Lenore's jaw before turning back to Dean, "Want to help?" No one moved, "Look, man grab a knife. I was just about to start in on the fingers."

"Let's all just chill out, huh?" Sam suggested, moving so that he was better shielding Rian from Gordon.

"I'm completely chill." Gordon said sounding remarkably calm considering he was torturing a living creature.

"Gordon, put the knife down." Sam said, worried about the man's stability.

"It sounds like it's Sam here needs to chill." Gordon said

"Just step away from her, all right?" Sam said

"You're right." Gordon said thoughtfully, picking up a silver knife, "I'm wasting my time here. This bitch will never talk. Might as well put her out of her misery. I just sharpened it, so it's completely humane."

"Gordon, I'm letting her go." Sam told him, taking a cautious step forward.

"You're not doing a damn thing." Gordon said, swinging the knife to point it at Sam, something that no one else in the room appreciated.

"Gordon, let's talk about this." Dean bargained.

"What's there to talk about?" Gordon asked, getting closer to Lenore, "It's like I said, Dean. No shades of gray."

"Yeah, I hear you." Dean said, "And I know how you feel."

"Do you?" Gordon asked

"The vampire that killed your sister deserved to die, but this-" Dean said with a shake of his head.

"Killed my sister." Gordon interrupted, "That filthy fang didn't kill my sister. It turned her, made her one of them. So I hunted her down and I killed her myself."

"You did what?" Dean asked, shocked. If it were Sam that was turned he wasn't sure if he'd be able to kill his own brother.

"It wasn't my sister anymore." Gordon stated, "It wasn't human. I didn't blink. And neither would you."

"So you knew all along, then." Sam said, figuring it out, "You knew the vampires weren't killing anyone. You knew about the cattle, and you just didn't care."

"Care about what?" Gordon asked, "A nest of vampires suddenly acting nice, taking a little time out from sucking innocent people, And we're supposed to buy that? Trust me. It doesn't change what they are. And I can prove it"

Gordon lunged for Sam and cut his arm. He grabbed Sam's arm and held it right over Lenore. The trio watch in horror as Lenore's fangs start to grow.

Without even realizing that she was moving Rian grabbed Dean's gun from his waistband and leveled it at Gordon.

"If you don't let Sam go I will shoot." Rian said, turning off the safety, "I don't give a damn that Lenore won't kill him. I don't give a damn that he's had worse. Do not touch Sam."

"Relax, buttercup." Gordon said, "I'm just proving that they're all bloodthirsty monsters."

"Really?" Rian snarled, "Because as far as I can tell, the only one spilling blood here is you."

Lenore gained control of herself and was moaning, rolling her head on the back of the chair. Rian could see the sweat pouring down her face as she tried to get control.

"Drop the knife, Gordon." Rian hissed, "I'm not afraid to shoot."

"Have you ever shot someone before, darling?" Gordon teased, "Do you know what it's like?"

"As a matter of fact I have," Rian told him, "now drop the goddamned knife before shatter your knees so that you can never walk again."

She shifted the aim with her gun and tightened her grip on the trigger. Slowly Gordon lowered the knife. Rian kept the gun aimed until Dean had moved the knife away.

"We're done here." Rian said handing the gun back to Dean.

"Sam, get her out of here." Dean ordered, pointing to Lenore. Sam obeyed and Rian followed him out, not wanting to be in the same house as Gordon anymore.

* * *

Dean glared at Gordon until Sam and Rian had left the room. Rian glanced back to see that the two were locked in a staring contest.

"Gordon, I think you and I got some things to talk about." Dean said walking closer to Gordon who backed away.

Gordon lunged for his knife at the same time the Dean lunged for him. Dean knocked the knife away and punched Gordon twice before Gordon managed to sock Dean in the jaw.

"Get out of my way." Gordon ordered, trying to push Dean back.

"Sorry." Dean said, punching Gordon again

"You're not serious." Gordon scoffed

"I'm having a hard time believing it, too, but I know what I saw." Dean said, "If you want those vampires, you got to go through me."

"Fine." Gordon said tackling Dean and forcing him into the wall, "What are you doing, man? You doing this for a fang? Come on, Dean, we're on the same side here."

"I don't think so, you sadistic bastard." Dean said socking Gordon in the face again

"You're not like your brother." Gordon sneered, "You're a killer like me."

"Oh, sorry." Dean faux-apologized as he knocked Gordon to the ground "You know, I might be like you. I might not."

Dean punched Gordon in the jaw knocking the man unconscious. He moved Gordon to a chair and proceeded to tie him up before Gordon woke up

"But you're the one tied up right now." Dean said, finishing his earlier statement.

"I miss anything?" Sam asked entering the room.

"Eh, not much." Dean said watching Gordon closely "Lenore get out okay?"

"Yeah, all of them did." Rian said entering the room and glaring at Gordon

"Then, I guess our work here is done." Dean said, smirking.

"We'll call someone in two or three days, have them come out and untie you." Dean informed Gordon, "that is, if we remember."

"Ready to go, Dean?" Sam asked, watching Rian in case she decided that Gordon needed a beating from her too.

"Not yet." Dean said "I guess this is goodbye. Well, it's been real." Dean kicked out and knocked Gordon's chair to the floor, smirking. "Okay. I'm good now. We can go."

They were at the impala when, Dean having gotten his keys back from Gordon, when Dean turned to Sam.

"Sam." Dean said, getting his brother's attention.

"Yeah?" Sam asked, turning to give Dean his full attention.

"Clock me one." Dean ordered

"What?" Sam asked, looking confused

"Come on." Dean urged, "I won't even hit you back."

"Let's go." Sam said, shaking his head

"You get a freebie." Rian said, watching Sam closely with a smirk, "how often does Dean Winchester give out freebies like that?"

"Hit me" Dean urged again, "Come on."

"You look like you just went 12 rounds with a block of cement, Dean." Sam informed his brother "I'll take a rain check."

"I wish we never took this job." Dean said, giving up on having Sam hit him "It just jacked everything up."

"What do you mean?" Sam wanted to know

"Think about all the hunts we went on, our whole lives." Dean said "What if we killed things that didn't deserve killing? You know? I mean, the way dad raised us..."

"Dean, after what happened to mom Dad did the best he could." Sam reminded him.

"I know he did." Dean assured, "But maybe he wasn't perfect. And the way he raised us, to hate those things and, man, I hate them. I do. When I killed that vampire at the mill, I didn't even think about it. Hell, I even enjoyed it."

"You didn't kill Lenore." Rian pointed out.

"No, but every instinct told me to." Dean said, looking at Rian "I was gonna kill her. I was gonna kill them all."

"Yeah, Dean, but you didn't, and that's what matters." Sam said as Rian walked up to Dean.

Rian raised her hand as if to slap Dean and Dean flinched when she swings. She stopped right before making contact and then pat Dean's cheek gently . "Dean Winchester. You seem to be under the impression that we don't understand. That we don't know the moral struggle that comes with this job. You have to understand that you'll learn from every decision that you make. This right here, this is a very important lesson. Do you understand me Dean?"

"Yeah." Dean sighed as Rian backed away from him. He looked from Rian to Sam "cause you guys are a pain in my ass."

"I guess I might have to stick around to be a pain in the ass, then." Sam said as he got into the impala"

"Thanks." Dean said, genuinely meaning it.

"Don't mention it." Sam replied, knowing about his brother's 'chick flick' rule.

The three of them piled into the impala. Dean and Sam in front and Rian in the back, having brushed the glass off her seat.

"You actually gonna call someone?" Rian asked Dean, sticking her head between the brothers.

"Maybe." Dean replied, grinning, as he threw the impala into drive.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Hello! Just wanted to let you guys know that the next update is going to be awhile. This goes for my other stories too. I have some things going on and I won't be able to work on the stories for a little bit.**

 **Let me know what you think and don't be afraid to point out any inconsistencies or mistakes! I am always looking to improve :)**

 **-Ryn**


	10. Wigs, Dreams, and Names

**No Exit**

"I'm not going." Rian repeated for the third time.

They were sitting at a booth in Harvelle's Roadhouse. Ash had just found Andy Gallagher and the boys were getting ready to head out when Rian had talked to them. Oddly enough they weren't taking her refusal to go on the hunt too well.

"And why not?" Dean repeated, also for the third time. Sam was just watching her silently.

Rian hit her head against the table and left it there. She took deep breaths so that she wouldn't snap at Dean. She knew that yelling at him wouldn't do her any good.

"Because I know that I would be a liability on this hunt and I don't want to put you, or myself, in any more danger than is necessary." Rian said, her voice strained in an attempt to remain calm. She was tired of repeating herself.

"But what if-" Dean said,

"I've got a goddamned cellphone for a reason, Dean." Rian said through gritted teeth, "if something happens you can give me a call or you can use your pea sized brain and figure it out yourself."

"Fine," Dean said, standing abruptly.

"Good," Rian said with a smirk, "and when you get back you can tell me that I wouldn't have been a liability."

* * *

"You were right." Dean said with a sigh when Rian picked up the phone three days later, "It was too dangerous for you."

"Told ya," Rian said loftily, "how far out are you guys?"

"A few hours, we're gonna stop and get some food though." Dean told her, "we haven't eaten for awhile."

"Aight," Rian said, "See you in a few hours then."

She hung up the phone and turned back to Ash, who was teaching her about hacking. Rian figured that she could do a lot more research if she knew how to hack certain databases without getting caught. He had given her a few pointers on normal research too that she was grateful for.

She had been learning the basics of hunting but she was definitely far better at research.

* * *

"Los Angeles, California." Dean said, slamming the trunk of the impala. He'd carried Rian's things out as Rian had finished up learning a concept from Ash.

"What's in L.A.?" Rian asks as Dean walked to the driver's side door. Sam was leaning against the front of the impala drinking from a bottle of water.

"A young girl's been kidnapped by an evil cult." Sam explained as he pushed himself off the hood and turned to face the other two.

"Yeah? The girl got a name?" Rian asked leaning her chin on the roof of the impala and earning herself a glare from Dean.

"Katie Holmes." Dean told her, gesturing for her to get her head off the car.

"Isn't she an actress or something?" Rian replied laughing.

"Yeah," Dean said before turning to the Roadhouse, where indistinct shouting could be heard, "on the other hand, catfight."

"On the other hand none of our business," Rian called after the brothers who were now walking back into the roadhouse. She followed with a sigh when it became evident that neither of them were actually going to listen to her.

"I am your mother! I don't have to be reasonable!" Ellen yelled slamming her hand down on the counter. She was not facing Jo and Jo flipped her off behind the woman's back.

"You can't keep me here!" Jo yelled at her mother

"Don't you bet on that, sweetie!" Ellen yelled back, turning around to face Jo. "Are you gonna chain me up in the basement?" Jo asks, still yelling.

"You've had worse ideas than that recently." Ellen pointed out "You don't want to stay? Don't -Go back to school!"

"I didn't belong there! I was a freak with a knife collection!" Jo said, frustrated.

"Getting yourself killed on some dusty back road -That's where you belong?" Ellen asked, she noticed Dean, Sam, and Rian then and turned to them, "Guys, bad time."

"Yes, ma'am." Dean replied right away, Rian rolled her eyes and mouthed an apology, "We rarely drink before 10:00 anyway."

"Liar," Rian grumbled. Oft times Dean would start his morning with a cold one.

"Wait." Jo said and marched over to the trio "I want to know what they think about this."

"I don't care what they think!" Ellen yelled as a young family of four walks into the pub

"Are you guys open?" The man asked nervously. He glanced at his wife to make sure that she actually wanted to be there

"Yes!" Jo yelled at the family

"No!" Ellen shouted at the same time.

"We'll just check out the Arby's down the road." The wife said.

As the family left the pub the landline started to ring. Jo and Ellen glare at each other until Ellen turned away to go answer said phone.

"Harvelle's." Ellen says, shooting a glare at her daughter before turning to face the phone. "Yeah, preacher."

Jo grabbed a file of the front counter and stalked over to Sam, Rian, and Dean. She held the file out to Dean as she began to explain what was going on

"Three weeks ago, a young girl disappears from a Philadelphia apartment." She began then she raised an eyebrow and shook the file in front of Dean, who was just staring at it, "Take it. It won't bite."

"No, but your mom might." Dean commented with a smirk as he took the folder and started flipping through it

"And this girl wasn't the first. Over the past 80 years, 6 women have vanished - All from the same building, all young blondes. It only happens every decade or two, so cops never eyeball the pattern. So we're either dealing with one very old serial killer-" Jo continued, explaining the case to the other two.

"Who put this together? Ash?" Dean interrupted, Rian immediately elbowed him causing the man to wince.

"I did it myself." Jo informed, Rian smiled proudly at her friend. She had offered to help but Jo had declined, wanting to do the work herself.

"I got to admit, we hit the road for a lot less." Sam pointed out when he finished reading the file for himself, handing it off to Rian who took a peek.

"Good." Ellen said, walking up to the group, "If you like the case so much, you take it." Jo began to protest but was interrupted by Ellen. "Joanna Beth, this family has lost enough. I won't lose you, too. I just won't."

"But Rian gets to travel with them," Jo argued, Rian flinched.

She'd been trying to find a way home recently. Ash had found nothing, she had found nothing, and there was else she was currently willing to even try. After nearly seven months she was hoping that she would have found a way home. Not that home was better, she was pretty much alone, but it was certainly safer.

"It's not like I do it by choice," She mumbled, turning and walking out of the Roadhouse. This was not a conversation that she ever wanted to be a part of. She did not want to discuss the reasons she was travelling with the Winchester's with anyone.

Sam followed Rian after a moment and found her in the back seat of the impala with her arms wrapped around her knees. Her eyes were red and she refused to look at the man as he got in the car next to her.

"Hey," Sam said kindly and quietly, laying a hand on her arm, "What's wrong Fin?"

"I- I just, it's... Sam, I miss my home." Rian said not looking at Sam, instead opting to stare at her feet, "I just want to go home and I'm not getting any closer to it no matter how much I try."

"It's okay, Rian," Sam said, scooting closer and pulling Rain into a hug, "we'll find a way, I'm sure."

"I feel like shit, honestly. I know everything that happens to both you and Dean and there is absolutely nothing that I can do about it." She started to cry, "I've tried Sam, and I've tried everything I know how to do. I don't know enough, Sam." she took a deep breath, "Sam I'm scared. I don't know if I can do this anymore."

"Hey now, Fin," Sam said, rubbing the girl's back, "We don't expect you to know everything. That's why we've been teaching you. That's why we've had Ash helping you. We'll work this out, all you gotta do is stay strong. Can you do that, Fin?"

Rian looked up at Sam with tears still in her eyes, "I can try Sammy. No promises, I can't exactly predict the future, now can I?"

"I don't know, Fin." Sam said, "maybe you're just a little bit psychic."

"Psychic and delusional, the perfect combination," Rian joked, wiping at her eyes, she leaned her head against Sam's shoulder, "thanks Sam."

"You two ready?" Dean asked, getting into the front and looking back at Sam and Rian with a smirk. Sam glared at him but Rian didn't look up from where she had rested her head. She knew that Sam probably wanted to move to the front but she wasn't quite ready to let go.

Instead of moving to the front like Rian had expected him to do Sam tightens his grip on her and nods to Dean, letting him know they were ready. They were pulling on to the main road when Rian realized that they weren't buckled.

"Sorry," She said, moving away from Sam to grab her buckle, "I've learned my lessons about these things."

She had gotten her cast removed a few weeks ago but she was still wary of using her arm. The rest of her injuries were mostly healed but they still gave her pain every once in awhile. For a few weeks she had forced the brothers to buckle up before driving, she was not going to let them die because of something so easily preventable.

Sam nodded his understanding and put his own seat-belt on before wrapping his arm around Rian's shoulder. She shifted to get more comfortable and rested her head on his shoulder again. Not even five minutes later Rian was asleep.

Dean looked back at Rian and Sam and smirked at his younger brother. He was planning on giving the both of them shit for this, specifically Sam. As much as he liked Rian he still was not quite comfortable around her. Sure, the girl was obviously loyal, but Dean wasn't sure if he believed her whole 'different universe' story. He'd seen a lot of shit in his life but that definitely took the cake.

Sam glared at Dean, knowing that he was in for a world of shit. But he found that he didn't care. He liked being there for Rian. It gave him something to focus on that was good. Something that wasn't the demon or whatever the hell was happening to him.

Rian was so much more than Sam had originally thought she was. It was obvious that the girl cared for the Winchesters and Sam would do his damndest to make sure that it wasn't thrown back in her face. At first he had thought she was going to be too weak minded for the job but she had proved time and time again that she was just as capable as anyone he knew.

Three hours into the drive Rian woke suddenly. She looked around with confusion before seeing Sam rubbing at his chin. She gave him a shy smile before looking through the front window. His arm was still around her shoulders and she found that she didn't want him to move it.

Sam, however, had other ideas. He pulled his arm back, flexing his hand to get his circulation flowing properly again. Rian leaned back with a sigh, throwing her head against the back of the seat.

"What's up?" Sam asked, shifting to look at Rian, who had her eyes closed.

"Bad dream," Rian said, not offering anything else.

"Ah," Sam said before looking out the window.

They stopped twice, once for food and once for gas. When they got to the apartment complex Rian immediately pulled out her laptop, not even bothering to exit the Impala. She looked up recent vacancies and showed Sam the list. He nodded before the brothers went in to talk to the manager.

In the last two hours the three had devised a plan. The three would see about renting a room hoping that staying in the complex where everything was happening would help the case go faster. Rian had been trying to remember what had happened but the only thing she could come up with was some homeless looking creep.

Before that though they would take the night off at a motel. They had decided that it would be better to get some rest somewhere that was most likely not haunted before having to lodge with a potential threat.

"Can you hand me Jo's file, Dean?" Rian asked as soon as they were in a room. Not really waiting for an answer before logging onto her laptop and starting her own research for the case. She turned to give Dean a small smile when he handed her the file but otherwise ignored the other two.

Rian could hear the two brothers talking softly but chose to ignore it. She spent the next two hours collecting her own data to compare with Jo's. She trusted what Jo had found but she wanted to get more practice researching with the tips that Ash had given to her.

* * *

"What the hell did you do to your hair?" Dean asked when Rian shut the door to the bathroom the following morning.

"I figured I was due for a change." Rian said with a shrug as she shoved her things back into her bag. "So I dyed my hair. Does it really look that bad?"

Dean finally looked away, shaking his head, "Nah, it's good, Fin." he ruffled her hair before walking past her into the bathroom.

"Fin?" Sam asked when he spotted her at the table only five minutes later.

"Yeah?" Rian asked, looking up at Sam with a raised eyebrow.

"Your hair." Sam trailed off, holding up a water bottle halfway to his mouth.

"Is blonde, you're very observant." Rian quipped as she shut the lid to the laptop and picking up the file Jo had given them.

"Isn't blonde the M.O. for the vics." Sam asked, shifting his weight and pointing an accusing finger at Rian who just grinned.

"Is it?" She asked innocently before stuffing her laptop and the file into her backpack and shouldering her duffle to take out to the impala.

"You're not gonna be bait." Sam told her, following Rian out to the impala. He placed a hand on the trunk, preventing Rian from opening it.

"Sam, last I checked you're not the boss of me," Rian said, lowering her things to the ground, "and anyways, I would make terrible bait, I'd be too scared and I'd bail."

"Then why'd you dye your hair blond?" Sam asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I didn't." Rian said with a shrug, Sam just continued to stare at her with an unamused expression, "No seriously Sam. It's a wig."

"What?" Sam asked, his expression morphing into one of confusion.

"Seriously, touch it." Rian said, offering him a strand of the coarse, obviously fake, hair.

"And this is supposed to convince me you don't want to be bait how exactly?" Sam questioned, letting his hand fall back to his side.

"I'm not crazy to the point where I would want to put myself in danger," Rian pointed out primly, "I'm simply prepared."

* * *

"I feel kind of bad, snaking Jo's case." Sam said when they reached the apartment complex. They began their hunt by looking around the last room that the abduction had taken place in.

"Well, maybe she put together a good file," Dean started, "But could you see her out here working one of these things? I don't think so."

"I think she could, she's twenty times better than I'll ever be." Rian remarked looking at a piece of goo on the floor by a vent with a frown. She recognized it from somewhere but she wasn't sure why.

"You getting anything?" Sam asked, he was looking at the opposite side of the room. He picked up a dirty wrapper with a grimace.

"No, not yet." Dean grumbled as he searched to the right of Rian

"Guys," Rian called, holding up the goo, finally recognizing it from the show. One of the cools things about memories is that cues came in often random forms. Like the black ectoplasm of an angry psycho-ghost.

"What's that?" Dean asked crouching next to Rian.

"What?" Sam asked before he recognized what Rian was holding up, "Holy crap. That's ectoplasm."

"Well, Sam, Fin, I think I know what we're dealing with here." Dean said placing a hand on each of their shoulders as he stood up. "It's the stay-Puff marshmallow man."

"Dean, I've only seen this stuff like twice." Sam said as he stood up with the ectoplasm between his fingers., "I mean, to make this stuff, you have to be one majorly pissed-off spirit."

"Let's find this badass before he snags any more girls." Rian said in her best Dean impersonation as she wiped the ectoplasm off on said man's coat, earning herself an indignant glare.

"Yeah, it's a great building." They heard someone say before a man and a woman, Jo, walked around a corner, "I fixed it up real nice. All the apartments come furnished, too." Sam and Dean hide while Rian just watches with a smile.

"Yeah, I love the furnishings." Jo said, dancing on a thin line between friendly and flirting, "It's so spacious, and the location is so convenient for me."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Dean growled, stepping from his hiding place when the two of them were closer to him.

"There you are, honey." Jo said, not in the least surprised to see him. She sauntered up to Dean and latched herself onto his arm, "This is my boyfriend, Dean, my sister Rian and her boyfriend Sam." When Jo said that Rian hooked her arms around one of Sam's and smiled shyly and the man in front of them, she and Jo had discussed this part of Jo's plan via text on the way over.

"Good to meet you." The man said, nodding to the newcomers. "Quite a gal you got here."

"Yeah, she's a pistol!" Dean grunted elbowing Jo. Sam and Rian exchanged a look.

"So, did you already check out the apartment?" Jo asked, when Dean didn't respond she added "The one for rent." along with an elbow to the man's side

"Yeah." Dean said after a moment, "Yes. Loved it. Great flow."

"How'd you get in?" The man, Ed if Rian remembered correctly, asked suspiciously.

"It was open." Dean shrugged. Both Rian and Sam rolled their eyes.

"Now, Ed, when did the last tenant move out?" Jo asked in an almost desperate attempt to distract the man. She knew that they couldn't afford anymore questions if they wanted to get the room.

"Uh, about a month ago." Ed replied, glancing between the four people in front of them. "Cut and run, too. Stiffed me for the rent."

"Well, her loss, our gain," Jo said sickly sweet, she jabs Dean with an elbow as she says the next part, "Because if Dean-O loves it, it's good enough for me."

"Oh, sweetie." Dean grimaced, clutching at his side.

"We'll take it." Jo said, saving Dean from having , handing over a wad of cash she had pulled from her wallet.

"Okay." Ed said pocketing the money.

Sam and Rian go out to the impala to get the rest of their gear while Jo and Dean go to work out the finer details of the room they were paying for. Naturally, they were renting the apartment under fake credentials.

"Do you know this case?" Sam asked quietly as he closed the trunk of the impala.

Rian shifted her backpack on her shoulders before answering, "Ya," She said simply, "but it's not one that I need to mention anything on. Except maybe that this building was on a field and the prison next door is the one we need to be worried about. But don't tell Jo. This is an important case for her."

"'kay," Sam said after a few moments of thinking it over, "Will do Fin."

"Thanks Samantha," Rain said with a wink.

"Okay, if you call me again then this deal and every previous deal will be terminated." Sam told her with a stern face.

"Terminated?" Rian said with a grin, "should I just call you the terminator now? Huh, Samantha?"

"You are asking for it." Sam warned her with a frown.

"Do your worst, Samantha," Rian called over her shoulder as she lugged her belongings into the building.

"Finley Errian Ora Fitzgerald." Sam called in a warning tone. She just laughed continuing on her path to the door.

Rian let out a yell of surprise when her bags were wrenched from her hands. She started to laugh as she was thrown over Sam's shoulders. She glanced at the bags Sam was now carrying and let out a sound of protest.

"Sam let me down." Rian laughed, "let me carry my own shit."

"I didn't know potatoes could talk." Sam mused with a smirk.

"You little shit, did you just call me a potato?" Rian nearly yelled. She started to pound on his back.

"You know, that actually feels good," Sam pointed out, Rian immediately stopped her abuse of Sam's back.

"You're an ass." Rian pointed out when Sam had put her on the ground inside the building.

"Thanks." Sam said before leading Rian up to the room on the fifth floor that the four of them would be staying in for the duration of the hunt.

"I'll flip you for the sofa." Jo was saying to Dean, when Sam and Rian entered, setting her second copy of the file on the table.

"Does your mother even know you're here?" Dean asked eyeing Jo suspiciously from his spot at the four person table.

"I told her I was going to Vegas." Jo said with a shrug, taking a seat in one of the chairs.

"You think she's gonna buy that?" Dean asked eyeing Jo like he thought she was stupid.

"I'm not an idiot." Jo said rolling her eyes, "I got Ash to lay a credit-Card trail all the way to the casinos."

"And I helped him" Rian called from the kitchen, she had made the boys pick up some groceries on their way over and she had just finished putting them away, she walked into the other room and took a seat at the table, "it actually wasn't as hard as I thought it would be."

"You shouldn't help her," Dean reprimanded, glaring at Rian before he turned to Jo "and you shouldn't lie to your mom. You shouldn't be here, either."

"Well, I am, so untwist your boxers and deal with it." Jo said, poking Dean in the chest.

"Where'd you get all that money from, anyways?" Sam asked, taking a seat at the table.

"Working at the roadhouse" Jo told them, "I'm not helpless."

"Hunters don't tip that well." Dean argued

"They aren't that good at poker, either." Jo smirked before she stood up and sauntered to kitchen.

The brothers were silent until Dean's phone began to ring. Rian raised an eyebrow at him

"Yeah?" there was a pause "Oh, hi, Ellen." Jo walked over and glared at Dean "I haven't seen her." a second pause, "Yeah, I'm sure." another pause "Absolutely" Dean hangs up the phone and glares at both Rian and Jo

"This place was built in 1924." Jo said once she was sitting back down at the table, everyone else was seated there with her, except Dean who had started pacing, "It was originally a warehouse, converted into apartments a few months ago."

"Yeah?" Dean asked skeptically, "What was here before 1924?"

"Nothing," Jo said, "An empty field."

"So the most likely scenario- Someone died bloody in the building, and now he's back and raising hell." Jo glanced at Rian who smiled encouragingly at the girl, "I already checked. In the past 82 years, zero violent deaths, unless you count a janitor who slipped on a wet floor." She glared at Dean "Would you sit down, please?"

"So, have you checked the police reports, county death records?" Sam started only to receive an elbow in the side and a raised eyebrow by Rian.

"Obituaries, mortuary reports, and seven other sources." Jo cut him off, she took out her hunting knife and started flipping it, always catching it by the handle, and added, "I know what I'm doing."

"I think the jury's still out on that one." Dean said sarcastically glaring at Jo "Would you put the knife down?"

"Okay." Jo said stabbing the table with the knife. Winking at Rian she stood and walked into the kitchen

"So, uh, it's something else, then." Sam said, unsure of what else to do. "May be some kind of cursed object that brought a spirit with it."

"We got to scan the whole building." Jo said crossing her arms as she walked back into the room with a bagel in her hands.

"Right. So, you and me," Dean pointed between Jo and himself "We'll take the top two floors, Sam and Rian you check downstairs."

"We'd move faster if we split up." Jo pointed out and Rian nodded her head in agreement.

"Oh, this isn't negotiable." Dean growled before going to get the items he would need for the search. He missed seeing both Rian and Jo roll their eyes at him.

* * *

"So, are you gonna buy me dinner?" She asked Dean, almost joking. The man was less than three inches from her. They had been searching the floor for only three minutes but she was already annoyed with Dean.

"What are you talking about?" Dean asked, glaring at Jo. Still obviously not happy with her being there.

"It's just if you're gonna ride me this close, it's only decent you buy me dinner." Jo said stepping away from Dean a little bit, wanting to create some space between the two of them.

"Oh, that's hilarious." Dean growled, "It's bad enough I lied to your mom, but if you think I'm letting you out of my sight - I don't know if you noticed, but you're kind of the spirit's type."

"Exactly." Jo agreed smirking at Dean who stared back at her incredulously.

"You want to be bait?" Dean asked, he stopped and stared at Jo, "Fin too! What is it with you women?"

"It's the quickest way to draw it out, and you know it." Jo looked at Dean who just stared at her, "What?"

"I'm so regretting this." Dean sighed turning away while shaking his head in exasperation. Jo followed and grabbed him pulling him back to face her.

"I've had it up to here with your crap." Jo told him holding her hand out so that it was level with her head.

"Excuse me?" Dean asked, looking confused and chargrined.

"Your chauvinist crap." Jo reiterated, knowing that Dean wouldn't otherwise understand her, "You think women can't do the job."

"Sweetheart, this ain't gender studies." Dean told her gruffly, "Women can do the job fine. Amateurs can't. You got no experience."

Jo huffed crossing her arms in front of her, "What about Rian? She's obviously a new hunter and you still travel with her"

"This isn't about Fin," Dean said glowering at Jo, feeling an almost uncharacteristic need to defend the other woman, "She doesn't really have a choice, but that's her story to tell, not mine. What you do have is a bunch of half-Baked romantic notions that some barfly has put in your head."

"And now you sound like my mother." Jo pointed out angrily.

"Oh, and that's a bad thing?" Dean asked, "Because let me tell you…"

"What?" Jo demanded with a glare when Dean trailed off.

"Forget it." Dean grumbled turning away from Jo who moved to stay in the older man's line of sight.

"No, you started this." Jo challenged, not letting Dean finish.

"Jo, you got options." Dean said with a sigh, "No one in their right mind chooses this life. My dad started me in this when I was so young. I wish I could do something else."

"You love the job." Jo pointed out with a smirk.

"Yeah, but I'm a little twisted." Dean relented

"You don't think I'm a little twisted, too?" Jo asked raising an eyebrow.

"Jo, you got a mother that worries about you," Deans pressed, wanting Jo to understand, "Who wants something more for you. Those are good things. You don't throw things like that away. They might be hard to find later."

Jo glared at Dean then nodded and they continued their search on the floors.

* * *

Sam and Rian walked through the bottom two floors quickly, Sam explained everything they're supposed to do as they do it. Rian paid close attention to everything Sam said and even pointed out a few things to Sam.

"Hey," Rian said, grabbing Sam's arm to get the taller man's attention, "There's more of that ectoplasm. Right here."

Sam crouched down in front of the ectoplasm and then looked back at Rian, "Nice find," He told her with a smile, "We should go back to the room now, this is the last place we needed to check."

Rian nodded and followed Sam back to the room, watching him closely and smiling. She knew that Sam was going to go through hell in the next few years, literally, but she also knew that Sam would fundamentally never really change. He'd still be the caring moose that he was now.

Once they got back to the room Rian explored while Sam looked over the file that Jo had created again. The apartment had two bedrooms and one bathroom. Most of the walls were paneled and there was a brick accent wall with an electric fireplace right in front of it. In the living area there was a leather couch and a matching leather chair. Next to the couch was an end table with a potted plant sitting on it along with a cheap lamp. In the corner of the room there was a small TV. The kitchen was relatively new and the cabinets were light and contrasted rather nicely with the dark laminate flooring that ran the length of the house.

When Rian was done looking at the decently sized apartment room she sat down with Sam and read through the file again. The dining room table is a dark red color and over it is a simple chandelier and lights up the room. After a while of going through the files Sam looked over at Rian and sighed.

"Your hair," He said and Rian stares at him smiling sheepishly, "You knew the M.O. on the victims and changed your hair."

"We had this discussion earlier Sammy," Rian reminded him, "It's just a wig."

Rian nodded slowly as the front door opened and Jo and Dean walked in. They had obviously been arguing and Rian shook her head before she got up and went to the kitchen. She started making some pasta from some of the supplies she had purchased earlier and then went back to the table where Dean and Jo were sharing what they found with Sam.

"Nothing really on the top two floors." Jo said before turning to Sam with a strained smile not even looking at Rian, "What did you guys find?"

"Ectoplasm in the basement but that's pretty much it," Rian replied, Jo refused to look at her. She shot Dean a confused look and the man just shrugged obviously not .

Rian shrugged and turned to Sam who was watching her. She smiled and then cleared her spot before going to the couch with her laptop and writing up the case so far. The entire night Jo ignored Rian which confused the girl, she had no clue why she suddenly wasn't in Jo's good graces. They had been getting along well so far.

* * *

"What's up Fin?" Sam asked, he sat down on the couch where Rian had been looking at the cup of tea in her hands. It was just past two in the morning and Jo had gone to bed an hour earlier after the two had sat in silence for nearly two hours. Dean was in the other bedroom.

"Have you ever looked up the meaning of your name, Sam?" Rian asked, her voice soft. She didn't look over at him.

"Not really, why?" Sam asked, sensing the conversation they were about to have was going to be somewhat long Sam shifted so that he was more comfortable on the couch next to Rian.

"I looked up my names once, y'know, I have a few of them to go around." Rian chuckled, "Finley means fair hero. I've always tried to be fair to other people."

"What are you getting at?" Sam asked looking down at the top of Rian's head.

"It- It's nothing really," Rian waved him off, "Sorry to bother you."

She made to get up but Sam stopped her with a hand placed gently on her knee. Rian sighed and sat back down before leaning into Sam. She laid her head on his shoulder.

"What do your other names mean?" Sam asked, curious now.

"Well, Ora means light. It was my great grandmother's name. Errian is a variation of Erin which is an old poetic form of Ireland which is named after a goddess. Although, my mom told me it was a variation of the name Aaron who was the older brother of Moses, a protector of sorts. The name is also thought to mean exalted." Rian said, barely pausing for a breath, "You know, I looked up the meaning of your name once. My friend had a baby and I was helping her find baby names."

"And what did you find?" Sam asked gently.

"Well, Samuel means name of God, or God has heard. I'm not particularly keen on that definition. Sam, however, means sun child or bright sun." Rian chuckled, "you know, I also believed that people grew to fit their names. Like names are just part of what makes us who we are. Say, if my name had been Patricia I would have been a completely different person."

"I've never really thought about that." Sam said, "I think all of your names fit you, Finley."

"Did you know that Samantha means listen, as well as name of God." Rian said, making Sam groan, "don't you think that's a little sexist?"

"Rian," Sam groaned

"Sorry, Sam" Rian apologized, "and thank you."

"Any time." Sam promised. They were quiet for a few moments for Sam spoke again, "can you tell me about your life? Y'know before you suddenly appeared in this place."

"Uh, sure. But it wasn't exactly that interesting." Rian said, not sure what had brought this on, "what would you like to know?"

"Did you play sports?" Sam asked, his voice a pleasant rumble.

"I threw in track, discus, javelin, and shot put. I was alright, not state level but I usually placed. Nothing too impressive. But I was mostly musically involved." Rian told him, she let out a yawn, comforted by the warm presence of Sam.

"How so?" Sam asked, his interest piqued.

"Well I played the cello and the saxophone. I was in my school's orchestra, jazz band, and marching band." Rian let out another yawn, "Again, I never got very good."

"Where does the researching come into play?" Sam questioned.

"I wanted to be a research librarian." Rian let him know, "all I really knew was that they could research so I practiced. I also really enjoyed finding out information that I didn't know."

"And the forensics?" Sam asked, he was now absentmindedly playing with a lock of Rian's now short hair.

"Sherlock Holmes was a great inspiration for that." Rian said sheepishly, she automatically sobered though, "but mostly it's because of something that" she yawned, "happened when I was," another yawn, "younger. Ah, sorry. I should probably hit the hay." Rian shifted off of Sam so that the young hunter could get up.

"Oh yeah, sure." Sam said although he didn't move. He was quite comfortable next to Rian and it was nice to feel that way with someone.

"Sam?" Rian asked, wondering why the man wasn't moving. He was supposed to be sleeping on the floor. They'd flipped coins for the sleeping arrangements with Dean and Jo getting the rooms and Sam and Rian getting the living room.

"Sorry," Sam apologized with a shake of his head, finally moving off the couch.

With a groan Rian curled into a ball and flipped around so that she was facing the back of the couch. She always felt more comfortable that way, safer. It was a habit she had picked up when she was younger and had nightmares. She would sleep in the living room rather than her own bed and she had pretended that the back of the couch was another person.

In the morning Rian went with Sam on his coffee run. She hadn't slept very well and was not surprised to learn that Sam hadn't slept well either. Rian had been plagued by nightmares that she couldn't quite remember anymore.

"How you doing?" Sam asked when they were in the impala on the way back to the complex. The two had been silent except for when they were ordering.

"I'm alright." Rian said, adjusting her wig, "just tired is all."

"Didn't sleep much last night?" Sam asked glancing at Rian before turning his attention back to the road.

"Yeah." Rian replied before taking a sip of her chai. She wasn't one for coffee but she did love the caffeinated drink that Sam had purchased for her. She gave Sam a knowing look,"Seems to be a common occurrence around here."

"Fin," Sam warned, he did not want to talk about his dreams. Not now, not ever if her could help it.

"Yeah, yeah." Rian dismissed with a wave of her hand, "just remember that if you ever want to talk about it I'm all ears, Sam."

"Thanks Rian," Sam gave a soft chuckle, "same goes for you."

* * *

"Where's the coffee?" Dean questioned when Sam and Rian walked into the apartment. They had decided to take the stairs rather than the elevator. Rian was still breathing hard. Dean smirked at her. She opted for the mature response and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Mature." Dean quipped while taking the offered coffee from Rian.

She tried to hand Jo a coffee but the slightly younger woman wouldn't even look at Rian. She glanced at Dean confused before shrugging. She set the coffee on the counter before grabbing her bag and heading into the spare room. She had a few things she wanted to check up on and she wasn't about to deal with Jo being such a brat.

She only wanted to get a little bit of reading done. She'd started a good novel but hadn't had the time to really get into it. After about an hour of reading though she felt herself nodding off. Rian knew that taking a nap during the day would do nothing to help her sleeping problems so she stood to go back out to the main room.

Rian was about to throw open th _e door when a hand clamped down over her mouth. She tried to struggle but the lack of air soon made her world go black._

* * *

 _Rian looked around her and noticed that she was not in a cell like she had expected to be. That led her to worry about whether or not Holmes had been the one to get her. If not then she was in a definite pickle. The room she was in was the one that she had been in when Sam and Dean had found her, the room in Aberdeen that was both hers and not hers. Sitting on the desk that had been in the room was Azazel. He was watching Rian with a disgusting amount of interest that made her want to throw up.._

 _"You." She said, glaring at the demon, "Why are you in my head?"_

 _Azazel smirked but does not answer right away, like he knew that it would make Rian squirm. She was in no way comfortable with that thought. "You're interesting." Azazel remarked after a moment, "A conundrum even. You're not supposed to exist. And yet here you are."_

 _"What?" Rian asked._

 _Azazel's smirk widened into a grin, "You will be most useful Finley Errian Ora Fitzgerald, most useful indeed."_

 _"What do you want?" Rian asked, tilting her head to the side, "I mean, I'm not even going to bother with the obvious question which is: how the hell do you know my name?"_

 _"All in good time." Azazel said and suddenly he was gone._

* * *

"Hello?" A voice, a young woman, calls, "Is -Is anybody there?"

"Your name's Theresa?" Jo asked as she begins to struggle against her bonds. She had woken up next to the limp form of Rian in a cage. She had been going into apologize to her friend after a conversation with both Sam and Dean. She had panicked upon finding the room empty and the next thing she knew was a pounding headache.

"Yes." Theresa replied, her voice relieved.

"This won't make you feel better, but we're here to rescue you." Jo called, her voice light. She glances at the limp form of her friend and was about to shake her awake when Rian suddenly sat up with a gasp, looking panicked and confused.

"Oh, god." Theresa groaned as the sound of footsteps reached her cell. "He's out there. He's gonna kill us!"

"No, he won't! We're getting out." Jo yelled, Rian flinched at the sound in her ear but otherwise doesn't pay attention to what they are saying as she tries to work a pin out of her hair. "My friends are looking for us."

"Oh, god, it's him!" Theresa whined, ignoring Jo.

"Shh! Just be quiet!" Jo hushed urgently. Rian grinned when she finally got the pin out of her tangled wig and she focused back on the hand that was now reaching to stroke her leg. She grimaced and fought the urge to throw up when the abhorrent hand caressed her skin just above her ankle.

"You're so pretty." A gravelly voice murmured. The voice reminded Rian of moldy cheese and rotten milk and it made her want to throw up even more, "So beautiful."

"Go to hell!" Rian yelled slashing out at the hand. The hand leaves the cell that Jo and Rian are in "How do you like that?! Huh? Try it again so I can cut your friggin hand off!"

"Is he gone?" Theresa asked, her voice cracking.

"I don't know." Rian replied honestly. She squirmed a bit in discomfort and then moved so that she was not right next to Jo.

"I-" Theresa started but she's interrupted by a yell from none other than Dean Winchester

"Hey! No! Fin! Jo! I'm here!" Dean said when Rian tries to stab his hand with the pin that she has. She winks when his face comes into view and Dean just shakes his head at her.

"Hey." Jo said, relieved, she moves so that she's right next to Rian again and shivers.

"I'm gonna get you out of here, alright?" Dean said pulling something out of his pants.

"Sam!" Dean yelled as he begins picking the lock on the door.

"Hang on." Sam called back, he moved over to the cell that Theresa was in and starts to lock pick it.

"You alright?" Dean asked when they get out of the cell. He was looking at Jo, which made Rian roll her eyes with a smirk

"I've been better." Rian replied anyways before going to help Sam pull a limp Theresa out of her cell.

"Let's get the hell out of here before he comes back." Jo grunted, leaning on Dean for support.

"Actually, I don't think you're leaving here just yet." Rian said at the same time as Dean, she shares a look of shock with Dean.

"What?" Jo asked, looking between the two of them.

"Remember when I said you being bait was a bad plan?" Dean asked, Jo nodded, "Now it's kind of the only one we got."

Jo started breathing harder and Rian stepped in front of her and put her hands on Jo's shoulders. She smiled reassuringly when Jo looked at her.

"How do you stay so calm?" Jo asked Rian raising an inquisitive eyebrow., "The only time I've ever seen you not calm was last night, and even then you were pretty fuckin' calm."

'I'm scared as hell, Jo. I'm friggin terrified." Rian's smile widens into a grin, "But lemme tell you a secret. I don't care if you believe it but it's the truth." She rushed to say the next bit, not allowing Jo to interrupt her, "I'm from an alternate universe where all this shit is a TV show. I know some of the big stuff that's going to happen for the next ten years."

"What." Was her response from Dean.

"That's what I thought too," Rian said, "But I also trust the Winchesters with my life and if they let anything happen to us we'll just be the most annoy ghosts they'll ever have to deal with, alright?"

"Well, let's do this then" Dean announced after Jo nodded.

* * *

They had cemented in Holmes, just like Rian and Sam had planned to do. Dean was off taking Theresa to a local hospital while the three others waited for the cement to harden, just to make sure the plan had worked.

"So is this job as glamorous as you thought it would be?" Rian asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Well, except for all the pee your-pants terror, yeah." Jo chuckled, "But that Theresa girl's gonna live a life 'cause of us. It's worth it, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Sam answers for Rian, "Yeah, it is."

When they got back to the apartment after stopping for food at a diner in the town they found Ellen leaning against the wall outside the door. Jo winced and pushed past her mother into the room after Dean unlocked the door. Ellen hung back outside and gestured for Rian stay out in the hall with her. Sam passes them with a look of pity to Rian.

"You knew she was here and you didn't tell me," Ellen said coldly after a moment and Rian winced, "You know I didn't want her to hunt."

"Is there anything I can tell you that will help?" Rian asked closing her eyes, "I mean the truth would probably get me in more trouble but I'm sure it couldn't hurt, right?"

Ellen nodded before speaking, "The truth, in full, and then maybe I might forgive you."

Rian nodded and looked at Ellen. After she finished explaining what happened to her Ellen pushed off the wall and pulled Rian into a hug. Rian hugs her back, happy that Ellen believes her, happy that Jo had believed her. Happy that for once things were looking up.

"I also know about what happened to your husband," Rian added, pulling back. She wanted Ellen to know the whole truth, "and I know how you feel about the Winchesters. I'm sorry for not telling you. However I did tell Ash to cave."

Ellen gives Rian a small smile, "I know the boys are better than their father but that man was the love of my life."

"I understand," Rian assured, "and by the way, not that this is any of my business and I really hope I'm not overstepping any boundaries. But I think you should tell Jo. She's stronger than even she thinks."

"I know," Ellen conceded after a moment, "Thanks for keeping her safe, Rian."

"Not a problem, Ellen. I know I haven't known you guys long but you're family to me. Even if its not reciprocated."

"It is," Ellen assured. Rian pulled her in for another hug before running to grab her things.

"Well, you -You really weren't kidding about flying out, were you?" Dean said after two hours of driving, "How about we listen to some music?" He turned on the radio and Ellen reached out automatically to turn it off.

"You're as cold as ice." Dean said, Ellen doesn't react, Dean lets out a sigh, "This is gonna be a long drive."

When they finally it back to the roadhouse Ellen and Jo get out of the car and slam the door to the impala in the same moment. Rian rolled her eyes and followed Sam out of the car.

"Ellen It was my fault." Dean apologized when they made it inside the roadhouse. Rian groaned and hit her forehead with her palm. "Okay? I lied to you, and I'm sorry. But Jo did good out there. I think her dad would be proud."

"Don't you dare say that. Not you." Ellen said turning cold eyes on Dean, "I need a moment with my daughter -Alone."

Dean nodded and left the roadhouse Sam following him. Rian gave Ellen and Jo both a reassuring smile before heading out to join the boys. Dean was leaning against the Impala and Sam was sitting on the trunk. Rian grinned and jumped up onto the trunk next to Sam. They sit in silence until Jo stormed out of the Roadhouse.

"That bad, huh?" Dean asked and Rian grimaced. Wanting to avoid this conversation Rian quickly and quietly went back into the roadhouse in search of Ash.

She quickly spotted Ash on his laptop by the bar and walks over to him with a grin. She reads over his shoulder, an article from MIT, for a moment before talking.

"Do you miss MIT?" Rian asked, taking a seat next to her mullet sporting friend.

Ash shrugged, "The learning part, not really. The girls? Hell yes."

Ash turned to grin and Rian who grinned back, "Any updates?" Rian asked.

"Nothing," Ash said with a grimace, "not a single lead."

Rian placed a hand on Ash's shoulder and smiled at him, "We'll find a lead someday, I'm sure. Thanks so much for helping me." She placed a kiss on Ash's cheek as Ellen walked over to them.

"Jo's pissed at Dean." Rian informed with a small smile, "But I think she's more upset at John and can't really take it out on him. She'll be fine."

Ellen nodded and then pulled Rian into a hug, nearly taking the girl off of her perch, "If you ever need a place to stay then you're always welcome here," Ellen told her pulling back but still keeping her hands on Rian shoulders, "I'm sure travelling with those boys all the time is a pain in the ass."

Rian smirked, "I've stayed here more often than I've went with them. But I'll remember that. I'll make sure we have a girl's night soon."

"And if I hear anything about how to help you I'll let you know."

"Thanks Ellen" Rian said, giving the woman another hug as Dean walked in.

"Come on, Fin." Dean barked, "We're leaving."

Rian rolled her eyes and smiled. "Men" she whispered to Ellen dramatically before following Dean out to the impala.

* * *

 **A/N: Hiatus was not as long as I thought it would be. Sorry about about that. I had a stressful few weeks and needed to focus. I had some personal things going on that are still being sorted out. I have three more weeks left of this schedule which is currently stressing me to the point of no return :c.** **My updates will be a lot more frequent with my schedule next quarter. I hope you guys enjoy, please let me know what you think!**

 **-Ryn**


	11. We're Off to See the Wizard

"How are you related to Sam and Dean Winchester?" The woman pacing in front of Rian asked. She was trying to appear intimidating but Rian was having so much fun that she could not bring herself to even consider the woman as a threat.

Rian shrugged but didn't answer. This was the fifth time she has been asked that in the last half hour. The woman should know by now that she wasn't going to get an answer. She huffed and then stopped pacing and placed her hands on the table she leaned forward with a glare for Rian.

"What's your name?" The woman, Diana her badge read, asked.

Rian shrugged again and Diana sighed. Rian felt a rush of pleasure at the obviously infuriated look that Diana was giving her.

"Did you know that Dean is wanted for murder?" Diana asked and Rian widens her eyes in mock surprise. Diana noticed this and hid a small smile behind her hand. She apparently couldn't read sarcastic expressions.

"If you give up information then you'll get a lessened sentence." Diana pointed out.

Rian shrugged again and Diana left the room in frustration. As soon as Rian's alone she starts laughing. She knew she ought to be taking this whole thing seriously, she had been arrested after all. But it was just so difficult to do that. Especially when she knew the outcome.

It was kind of nerve-wracking, being in the interrogation room. But she had warned Sam and Dean about this case and they had told her to just let it happen. So she did. And she hoped that they would find a way to get her out of there.

* * *

 _Rian sat on the full sized bed closest to the door when Sam and Dean walk back into the room. They had gone to get some more food for Rian, who refused to continue eating greasy take-out and diner food. She smiled at the boys then went back to working on her document._

 _She was writing down episode titles, and when major characters would be popping up. Nothing too dangerous, just things to help her jog her memory. She was already unable to remember details from the middle seasons. She remembered the big things, but that was it._

 _Rian had been waiting for the brothers to get back to tell them about their next case. When they did get back Rian told them about what was supposed to happen soon in as few words as possible. She gave them an out but they decided that they wouldn't just run. They hadn't even been caught yet. Plus they needed to stop whatever was killing people._

 _"So, what should we do?" Sam asked, looking from Rian to Dean._

 _"Well, tell the story like it is. Whatever happens, before we get arrested, because I think we should, be honest." Rian paused for a moment and then nodded, "Except for me."_

 _"What do you mean?" Dean asked, watching Rian._

 _"I mean that I'm not actually supposed to exist here," Rian pointed out, "I'll have no records. What should we do about that?"_

 _"Okay, well, you did say to tell them how it is," Dean asked, leaning back in his seat and locking his fingers behind his head. "You're the one who knows what's going to happen"_

 _Rian sat down at the table with them and put her chin on her interlocked fingers, her elbows resting on the table. After a moment, she grabbed her computer from Dean and opened a new document and began typing._

 _"Okay, first I need a name." Rian began. "I don't know about you guys but having a record of someone who doesn't exist doesn't actually sound like that good of an idea."_

 _"Dorothy Gale." Sam suggested after a minute, getting a weird look from Dean and a smile from Rian. She knew what he was suggesting, "The wizard of Oz?" Sam asked Dean whose expression didn't change, "Nothing?" Sam sighed with exasperation "Ok Dean."_

 _"Dorothy, I like it," Rian nodded, "Let's tell them the story of the Wizard of Oz."_

* * *

"Wow." The man, Pete if Dean remembered correctly, said. He had short black hair and was wearing a gray suit. Dean just stared at him not changing his facial expression.

"First I thought you were just stepping up your game." Pete continued "Credit-card fraud, breaking and entering. This one, a puzzle Grave desecration. But still, these are a long way from murder. Then we get a fax from St. Louis where you're suspected of torturing and murdering a young woman. However, no one could prove anything, of course, because supposedly you died there. But I got to tell you something. You look pretty healthy to me. So, now we know Karen Giles wasn't the first person you murdered. But I guarantee you she's the last."

Pete walked around the room and Dean turned his head to watch him go.

* * *

The door to the room that Sam was in opened and he stood up from where he had been leaning on the filing cabinets. His arm was in a cast from a hunt a few days ago and he was wearing his clothes from the previous day. A woman with shoulder length reddish brown hair entered the room and Sam frowned. The woman, Diana Sam remembered Rian mentioning, was holding a cup of coffee and a file.

"Thought you might be thirsty." Diana said setting a cup of coffee down on the table that was in between her and Sam.

"Okay, so you're the good cop." Sam commented, "Where's the bad cop?"

"He's with your brother." Diana offered.

"Okay." Sam nodded, "And you're holding us why?"

"He's being held on suspicion of murder." Diana explained, "And you? We'll see." She added with a shrug, "and who knows what we'll find for your lady friend"

"Murder?" Sam asked, his face contorting in shock.

"You sound genuinely surprised." Diana remarked, "Or are you that good of an actor?"

"Who is he supposed to have murdered?" Sam asked.

"We'll get around to that." Diana quipped

"You can't just hold us here without formal charges." Sam argued

"Actually, we can for 48 hours." Diana corrected opening up the file she has in her hands "but you, being a pre-law student, would know that. I know all about you, Sam. You're 23 years old. No job, no home address. Your mother died when you were a baby. Your father's whereabouts are unknown. Then there's the case of your brother, Dean, whose demise was, well, just a little bit exaggerated." She glances "Feel free to jump in whenever you like." Sam said nothing.

"Shy?" She asked, "No problem. I'll keep going. Your family moved around a lot when you were a kid. Despite that, you were a straight-A student. Got into Stanford with a full ride. Then about a year ago, there was a fire in your apartment. One fatality Jessica Moore, your girlfriend. After she died, you fell off the grid, left behind everything."

"I needed some time off to deal." Sam explained slowly "So I'm taking a road trip with my brother."

"How's that going for you?" Diana asked, closing the file

"Great." Sam told her, "I mean we saw the second-largest ball of twine in the continental US." He grabbed the chair he was standing next to and pulled it so the back was against the table before sitting down in it "Awesome."

"We ran Dean's fingerprints through iafis." Diana mentioned walking around the table, "Got over a dozen possible hits."

"'Possible' hits, which makes them worthless." Sam pointed out.

"But makes you wonder, what are we gonna find when we run your prints?" Diana questioned.

"Yeah, well, uh you be sure to let me know, all right?" He said before gesturing to the coffee in front of her "May I?"

"Please."

"Great."

"Tell me a bit about your lady friend," Diana demanded sitting down on the corner of the table looking at Sam. "Why's she with you guys."

"We picked her up along the way." Sam began, "Her name is Dorothy Gale. Nice girl. She has a little dog that she just adores, best friend in the world. She's been our 'lady friend' as you put it for about a seven or eight months now."

"Dorothy Gale? The main character from the wizard of Oz?" Diana asked with a smirk.

"Her parents were fanatics." Sam said with a shrug, "Her dog is even named Toto. She was born in Liberal, Kentucky even. And get this. When she was younger, um… You know the story, right? She lived that. People tried to tell her it was a dream but she had the heels. Of course, it's normal for girls to have heels right? Not Dorothy though, she couldn't even walk two feet in heels. Weird, ain't it? The amount of therapy she got as a kid, man its no wonder she's a little messed up."

"Sam, you seem like a good kid." Diana said, "It's not your fault Dean's your brother. We can't pick our family. Right now detectives in St. Louis are exhuming a corpse. They're trying to figure out how your brother faked his own death after torturing all those young women. Dean's a bad guy. His life is over. Yours doesn't have to be. Neither does Dorothy's."

"You want me to turn against my own brother?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow

"No." Diana replied, "We already caught him cold, red-handed at the Karen Giles murder scene. We just need you to fill in some missing pieces. Why would I do that? Because I can talk to the D. A., make a deal for you. You can get on with your life. Dean's as good as gone."

"My dad and Tony Giles were old friends." Sam offered, "They were in the service together. We've known him since we were kids, you know? So we came as soon as we heard about his death."

* * *

" _Here you go." Dean said, handing Sam the paper he'd been reading since Sam had gone off to little boy's room, "Anthony Giles."_

 _"Who's Anthony Giles?" Sam asked glancing at the paper then back at Dean._

 _"The Baltimore lawyer. Working late at the office. Check it out." Rian said, leaning back in her seat after finishing the Chai Tea she had in front of her._

 _"'His throat was slit but the room was clean' - Huh," Sam said looking back that the_

 _"No DNA, no prints." Dean grinned, "Keep reading. It gets better."_

 _"'Security cameras failed to capture footage of the assailant' either somebody tampered with the tapes or it's an invisible killer."_

 _"My favorite kind." Dean grinned, "what do you think, Scully? We check it out?"_

 _"I'm not Scully." Sam said, "You're Scully."_

 _"No, I'm Mulder." Dean said, "You're a redheaded woman."_

 _"If any one's Scully it's me." Rian said, grinning, "You guys can be Mulder and his lesser known good looking brother."_

* * *

"So it would've been hard for Dean to kill Tony," Sam finished his retelling of the events, "considering we weren't in town at the time."

"So, tell me what happened next," Diana demanded.

"Okay, uh, that's when we went to see Karen." Sam continued, "She was barely holding it together. We just wanted to be there for her, you know?"

* * *

" _Insurance." Karen in front of Sam, Dean, and Rian- Karen- sighed, "I totally forgot about the insurance."_

 _They were sitting in Karen's dining room. It was a nice room, most of the furnishings were dark wood. Karen sat at the head of the table. Rian next to her and Sam and Dean were seated at the sides. Rian wore a black pencil skirt and a white frilly blouse while the Winchester boys were wearing their normal suits._

 _"We're very sorry to bother you right now, but the company is required to conduct its own investigation." Sam told Karen, "You understand?"_

 _"Sure," Karen replied._

 _"If you could just tell us anything you remember about the night your husband died," Rian asked kindly, placing one of her hands over Karen's hands_

 _"Tony and I were supposed to have dinner." Karen started, "He called and said that he was having computer troubles and that he had to work late. That was it."_

 _"Do you have any idea who could've done this to him?" Dean asked._

 _"No." Karen shook her head, sniffing "It's like I told the police. I- I have no idea."_

 _"Did Tony mention anything unusual to you in the days before his death?" Dean asked_

 _"Unusual?" Karen asked tilting her head in confusion, Rian gripped her hand comfortingly_

 _"Yeah, like strange," Dean affirmed_

 _"Strange?"_

 _"You know, Karen, weird." Dean scoffed. Rian glared at him but Dean continued anyways, "Weird noises, visions, anything like that?"_

 _"He had a nightmare the day before he died," Karen told them._

 _"What kind of a nightmare?" Rian asked kindly_

 _"Uh, he said that he woke up in the middle of the night, and there was a woman standing at the foot of the bed." Karen explained, "He blinked." Karen blinked, "She was gone. I mean, it was just a nightmare."_

 _"Did he say what she looked like?" Dean asked_

 _"What the hell difference does it make what she looked like?!" Karen said forcefully_

 _"Uh, it's just our company is very thorough," Sam said awkwardly._

 _"He said she was pale, and she had dark, red eyes." Karen conceded._

* * *

"So I gave Karen a hug, told her to call us if she needed anything, and that was it." Sam finished, "end of story."

"Sam, I am trying to help you here, but you have got to be honest with me." Diana informed him, "now, we have an eyewitness, someone who saw two men and a woman fitting Dorothy, your's and your brother's description breaking into Giles' office."

"Ok, look, Karen called us later, said that there was some stuff she wanted from Tony's office," Sam explained, "but the police weren't letting her in. Like a picture of the two of them in Paris and some other stuff. Look, it was wrong to enter a crime scene, but she gave us the key."

* * *

 _They entered the office room quickly and got to work. The room was of a decent size with white walls and sparse furniture. There were fake potted plants and simple pictures and a leather couch, all things one would expect to find in an office._

 _"Hey." Sam said shining his flashlight on a puddle of blood to the right of an entrance through the door, "Anthony Giles' body was found right about here. Throat slit so deep, that part of his spinal cord was visible"_

 _"What do you think? Vengeful spirit? Underline 'vengeful'?" Dean asked_

 _"Yeah." Rian agreed._

 _"Maybe." Sam said, "I mean, he did see that woman at the foot of his bed."_

 _"Look at this," Dean said picking up a piece of paper off the table._

 _"danashulps. What's that, a name?" Sam asked_

 _"Street name, I think. But I can't remember which one." Rian remarked looking through some files in the filing cabinet. She pulled out papers from the file she was looking at, all of the papers said "danashulps"_

 _"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" Dean smirked_

 _Sam noticed something on the glass desk he was sitting out and breathed on it, the word danashulps appearing in the fog his breath had created "I'd say we've officially crossed over into weird."_

 _"Maybe Giles knew her." Dean pointed out_

 _"Maybe it's the name of our pale, red-eyed mystery girl." Sam countered_

 _"Well let's see what we can see," Dean said_

 _Rian looked up from her third file and grimaced, "Are you guys just going to ignore me?" She asked, "I'm trying to save you troubles. Dana Shulps is not the name of the mystery woman. "_

 _"Well, I think I'm pretty close to cracking Giles' password," Sam said, ignoring Rian who glared daggers at him._

 _"Fine, fuck you too," Rian muttered turning back to her file, "I offer to help and I get ignored. I don't offer and I get yelled at. Great."_

 _"Maybe there's something in his personal files, you know" Sam continued_

 _"By "close" you mean?" Dean asked and Sam looked up at him shaking his head,_

 _"Thirty minutes"_

 _"Awesome." Dean complained, "So, I guess I just get to, uh, hang out."_

 _Dean sat in his chair make weird noises as Rian walked over to read over Sam's shoulder. Rian started to glare at Dean while Sam looked up every couple seconds._

 _"Dude, seriously," Sam asked after he'd had enough._

 _"Alright." Dean said standing up "I'm gonna go talk to Karen again, see if she knows anything about this Dana Shulps, huh?"_

 _"Great," Sam replied distractedly_

 _"Keep going, sparky," Dean said closing the door to the office_

 _"Dana Shulps is not a name," Rian cried after him, "Jesus Christ will you guys just listen to me"_

 _Sam didn't listen. Forty-five minutes later they were on their way back to the motel. Sam hadn't found anything._

* * *

Rian had been staring at the man in front of her since he walked in the room. Pete stared back at her. This had been the situation for the last ten minutes. Pete had tried to get Rian to speak but she had refused. After another minute, Pete looked away and Rian shouted in triumph.

"I win," She yelled, the first words she had spoken since Pete entered the room. "Take that."

Pete glared at her for a moment before speaking, "Tell me about yourself, Ms. Gale." He demanded.

Rian grinned and then told Pete the backstory that she, Sam, and Dean had come up with. Pete obviously did not believe her. But then again, that was kind of the point.

Once she finished Pete sighed and covered his eyes with his hands. "So you're telling me that you were caught in a tornado at your house in Kansas and ended up in Oz?" He sighed again glared at Rian

"You know if you got more sleep you'd sigh less," Rian said with a slight smirk, "Maybe you should do a confession or something, I heard that telling a priest of your sins helps. But then, you've got a lot of those, don't you?"

"How stupid do you think I am?" Pete yelled, getting fed up with this act of Rian's, well, Dorothy as she was known.

"Pretty stupid actually. Especially if you think Dean could murder Karen." Rian growled, "Dean's twice Pete you'll ever be."

Pete stood up to glare at Rian from a higher position, as if that would intimidate her, "watch what you say."

"Watch what you say," Rian mimicked, "You're trying to be threatening but lemme tell you. The cowardly lion was scarier than you are."

Pete slapped Rian on the right cheek and she brought her hand up to cover the spot.

"Mature, real mature." She hissed, glaring at Pete "I won't talk anymore if you're in here. You may as well leave."

* * *

"Then Dean went back to Karen's place to check up on her." Sam said, "I mean, you know, she had been pretty upset earlier."

"So why didn't you and Ms. Gale go with him?" Diana asked.

"We just went back to the motel." Sam explained, "How did you know we were there, by the way?"

"We found the motel matchbook on your brother when we arrested him." Diana told Sam, "Let's quit fooling around. Now, you and Gale were with your brother the whole time you were in Baltimore. Why separate now?" She didn't give Sam the chance to respond. "Because your brother left you two to go murder Karen."

"He didn't kill anyone." Sam insisted.

"I heard the 911 call!" Diana yelled, "Karen was terrified! She said someone was in the house."

* * *

 _Karen looked up from the TV and removed her glasses. She'd been crying ever since Sam, Dean, and Rian had left her house. When she puts her glasses back on she screams._

 _In the decorative window between the hallway and the living room was a woman. She's wearing all white and looks pissed. Karen looked away for a second and when she looked back the woman was gone._

 _Karen got up and searched the house for Diana. When she couldn't see anyone she ran upstairs to her room and locked the door behind her. She scrambled to her phone and started dialing 911._

 _"Emergency services." the voice on the line said after Karen finally managed to dial the number._

 _"Hello? I think I saw somebody in my house." Karen stuttered._

 _"What is your address, ma'am?" The voice asked calmly_

 _"It's 421 Clinton Avenue," Karen replied. "Please," the line went dead, "Hello?"_

 _The lights in Karen's house started to flicker. The fax machine turned on and out came a paper saying danashulps over and over again. She opened her closet door cautiously and grabbed a flashlight. When she turned around she screamed. The woman was there again._

 _Dean knocked on the door downstairs and started calling when he got no answer, "Karen, are you in there?" There was no answer again so Dean picked the lock and entered the house cautiously._

 _He searched the entire house and finally found himself in Karen's room "Oh, god." He said upon finding Karen's body, "Seriously, what the hell?" he said upon finding the piece of paper that said danashulps._

 _Dean knelt to check Karen's pulse and was in that same spot when two cops walked into the room with their guns raised._

 _"Freeze." One of them said Dean looked over his shoulder, "Stay on your knees. Hands where I can see them." Dean hesitated "Now!" he raised his hands slowly, "Cuff him."_

* * *

"Dana Shulps, Dana Shulps, Dana Shulps" Dean mused, tapping his fingers on the table, "Maybe it's not a name. Maybe it's not a name?"

"Mr. Winchester?" A man asked entering the room that Dean was in.

"Yeah," Dean affirmed

"I'm Jeff Crouse." The man introduced himself, "I'm with the public defender's office. I'm your lawyer."

"Oh, thank god." Dean said, sarcastically, "I'm saved. Can I, uh, steal a pen from you and some paper?"

"Sure." Crouse said handing Dean a pen and pulling out a pad of legal paper, "Well, the police haven't found a weapon yet. So that's good. But, uh, they got your prints and literally blood on your hands. And with your police record Mr. Winchester, - what are you doing?" Dean was ignoring Crouse and writing different forms of the word danashulps on a piece of paper.

"I think it's an anagram," Dean said finally

"A what?" Crouse asked

"An anagram." Dean explained, "Same letters, different words. Could you do me a favor? See if you recognize any of these words, you know. Local names, places, anything like that."

"Do you understand how serious these charges are?" Crouse asked

"I'm handcuffed to a table." Dean said pulling on the handcuffs and laughing, "Yeah. I get it. Humor me. Take a quick look.

"Well, S-U-P? I don't know about that," Crouse said looking at the different words, "but Ashland is a street 's not far from here."

"Street?" Dean asked, "Shit that's what she said. Should'a listened."

"Let's start with where you were the night that Anthony Giles died," Crouse said ignoring Dean.

"Can you get in to see my brother? Dorothy too?" Dean asked suddenly after finishing two notes and tearing the paper in half.

"Mr. Winchester you could be facing the death penalty here," Crouse said, getting a little frustrated.

"Hey, thanks for the law review, Matlock." Dean said with a grin, holding his paper out to Crouse "But if you want to help me I need you to see my brother and Dorothy."

* * *

Rian looked up when a man entered the room she was stuck in. "Ms. Gale," The man said, Rian nodded watching him. He held out a piece of paper to her and Rian took it looking confused, "Dean asked me to give this to you. I'm Jeff Crouse, your defense attorney"

"Thanks, Matlock," Rian grinned.

"You must be really close to the Winchester boys," Crouse said, causing Rian's grin to widen.

"Closer than you can imagine, I'm sure," Rian said with a wink. The man blushed and Rian couldn't help but smirk at him.

"Ah, I wanted to talk to you about your case," Crouse said deciding to ignore Rian's innuendo.

"What case can there be?" Rian asked and Crouse looks at her in confusion, "unless they believe that I'm actually Dorothy Gale? Cause they're not holding me here on any charges. In two days time, I'll be free to walk out on my own."

Crouse shook his head, "Yes but-"

Rian interrupted him with a glare, "There's no case here. Go see Sam."

Crouse left the room in a hurry. He had nearly had enough of dealing with the trio and he hadn't even met one of them.

* * *

"I hope that was meaningful," Crouse said handing Sam the other slip of paper from Dean. "But I'd like to discuss your case now."

"Sure thing, Matlock," Sam said with a grin

"You three really are close, aren't you?" Crouse commented before continuing, "Now as you know, the D. A. might be interested in-"

"We need you with the other one," Pete said upon entering the room.

* * *

"This should be nice." Pete commented sarcastically as Crouse walked into Dean's interrogation room, "Counselor your boy decided to confess."

"Mr. Winchester, I would advise against that strongly." Crouse urged walking over to Dean who just grinned at the man.

"Talk directly into the camera." Diana said, wanting to get this over with, "Start by stating your name for the record."

"My name is Dean Winchester." Dean said smirking at the camera, "I'm an Aquarius. I enjoy sunsets, long walks on the beach, and frisky women. And I did not kill anyone, but I know who did. Or rather what did." He cleared his throat. By this point Crouse looked defeated, Diana looked confused and Pete looked like he was about to kill Dean.

"Of course, it can't be for sure because our investigation was interrupted." Dean continued seriously, "But our working theory is that we're looking for some kind of vengeful spirit."

"Excuse me?" Diana said

"You know, Casper, the bloodthirsty ghost." Dean explained, glancing at the woman, "Tony Giles saw it. I'll bet you cash money Karen did, too. See, the interesting thing is the word it leaves behind. For some reason, it's trying to tell us something. But communicating across a veil ain't easy. And sometimes the spirits, they get things jumbled. You remember "Redrum". Same concept. You know, it could be word fragments. Other times its anagrams. See, at first, we thought this was a name, Dana Shulps. But now we think it's a street. Ashland. Whatever is going on, - I'm betting it started there."

"You arrogant bastard." Pete growled from his spot by the door, "Tony and Karen were good people, and you're making jokes."

"I'm not joking, Ponch," Dean said he wants to say more but Pete was already talking

"You murdered them in cold blood just like that girl in St. Louis," Pete said, stalking over and slamming his hands on the table

"Oh, yeah, that wasn't me, either." Dean said, unperturbed, "That was a shapeshifter creature that only looked like me."

Pete finally had enough and he pushed Dean. Pete hauls Dean to his feet and slams him into the wall. Then he started to punch him.

"Pete that is enough!" Diana yelled pulling Pete off Dean.

"You asked for the truth," Dean smirked.

Pete glared at him before storming out the door, Crouse followed, and Diana collected the camera before joining them.

"Lock this guy up," Pete ordered the remaining officer before the door closed behind them.

Not even ten minutes later Diana walked back into the room, closing the door cautiously behind her. She watched Dean for a moment before Dean broke the silence.

"Can we make this quick? I'm really tired." He smirked, "It's been a long day, you know, with your partner assaulting me and all."

"I want to know more about that stuff - you were talking about earlier." Diana started, unsure of how to continue

"Time life, 'mysteries of the unknown'. Look it up."

"Let's pretend for the moment you're not entirely insane." Diana said, "What would one of these things be doing here?"

"Vengeful spirit?" Dean confirmed Diana nodded, "Well, they're created by violent deaths, and then they come back for a reason, usually a nasty one, like revenge on the people that hurt them."

"And, uh, these spirits they're capable of killing people," Diana asked and Dean finally gave the woman his full attention

"Where did you get that?" Dean asked after a moment, looking pointedly at the bruises on Diana's wrists.

"I don't know," Diana replied

"It wasn't there before." Dean looked from Diana's wrist up to Diana, "You've seen it, haven't you? The spirit."

"How did you know?" Diana asked

"Because Karen had the same bruises on her wrists." Dean explained, "I'm willing to bet that if you look at Giles' autopsy photos, he's got them, too. It's got something to do with the spirit. I don't know what."

"I know," Diana said

"You think you're going crazy." Dean stated and Diana nodded her reluctant agreement, "But let's skip that part, shall we? Because the last two people who saw this thing died pretty soon after. You hear me?"

"You think I'm gonna die," Diana said numbly

"You need to go to Sam." Dean ordered, watching Diana closely "He'll help."

"You're giving your brother up," Diana said, shocked.

"Go to the first motel listed in the yellow pages." Dean ignored Diana's comment, "Look for Jim Rockford. That's how we find each other when we're separated. You can arrest him if you want. Or you can let him save your life."

* * *

Sam and Rian met outside the motel, Sam having gotten all their things and Rian having run there, not having enough faith in herself to do anything other than that. Sam got a room under the name Jim Rockford and they both deposit their things by one of the beds. The first thing Rian does is shower and change her clothes. Then she put some ice on the cheek that Pete had slapped.

"Pete," Rian said suddenly, startling Sam, "Pete's the guy we have to watch out for. He slapped me and Dean and he's using us as a scapegoat."

Sam nodded and they both look at the door when there's a knock. Rian answered and let in Diana who looked like a scared sheep. Rian patted her arm reassuringly and led her to the kitchen table after she shut the door and made sure that the salt line Sam had put there was undisturbed.

"These showed up after you saw it?" Sam asked, looking at the bruises that Diana had shown them.

"Yeah, - I guess," Diana said, unsure.

"All right." Rian said, standing up from her spot next to Diana, "You're gonna have to tell us exactly what you saw." Of course, Rian knew what she saw but the woman was already doubting them.

"You know, I must be losing my mind." Diana said suddenly, "You're a fugitive. I should be arresting you. Both of you."

"All right, well, you know what?" Rian said, losing her patience, "You can arrest us later, alright? After you live through this. But right now, you got to talk to us. Okay?"

"Okay." the detective replied quietly

"Great." Sam said, glad that Rian was helping, "Now, the spirit, what did it look like?"

"She was, um," Diana hesitated and Rian gave her a reassuring smile, "really pale and her throat was cut. And her eyes, they were like this deep, dark red. It appeared like she was trying to talk to me, but she couldn't. It was just a lot of blood."

"You know what? Here." Sam said, handing the research they'd been doing to Diana, "I've been researching every girl who has ever died or gone missing from Ashland Street."

"How did you get those?" Diana asked, "Those are from crime scenes and booking photos."

"You have your job." Rian started

"We have ours." Sam finished "Here. I need you to look through these. Tell me if you recognize anyone."

"This is her." Diana said after a moment of going through the pictures, "I'm sure of it."

"Claire Becker?" Sam asked, looking at the photo, "eight or nine months ago."

"But I don't even know her." Diana cried, standing up, "Why would she come after me?"

"Well, before her death, she was arrested twice for dealing heroin." Rian explained, "You ever work narcotics?"

"Yeah, Pete and I did, before homicide," Diana told them

"You ever bust her?" Sam asked

"Not that I remember," Diana said. Rian guided her back to the table so that she could sit down

"said she was last seen entering a house on Ashland police searched the place, didn't find anything," Rian said

"Guess we got to check it out ourselves, see if we can find her body," Sam told the two women.

"What?" Diana squeaked

"Well, we got to salt and burn her bones." Rian explained, putting a hand on Diana's shoulder "It's the only way to put her spirit to rest"

"Of course, it is," Diana muttered

They took Diana's car, Sam, up front and Rian in the back. Rian tapped her fingers on her knee for a minute before looking up. "Where's the best place to hide a body outside of town, probably on the way to St. Louis. There's a giant tree I think. Do you know where that might be?"

"Ya," Diana said cautiously.

"Shit, that sounded bad didn't it." Rian grumbled, "I'm not killing people. But I know who is. And I'd really rather avoid a scene over it. I know where they're gonna go and I wanna get there first."

"With what car," Sam asked

"I know where the impala is and I actually do know how to hotwire a car. It'll cause less trouble for you later." Rian explained with a smirk, "I'm not as innocent as you seem to think, Winchester."

"About twenty miles outside of town, going southeast. There's a giant tree where we've found bodies before, I think that's what you're looking for." Diana finally said, figuring it was best if she didn't actually know what Rian was doing.

"Ok, can you let me out by the impound? At least walking distance?" Rian asked before she lost her nerves.

"Sure." Diana agreed. A few minutes later they were a block from the lot. Rian got out of the car and stepped up to Sam's door, gesturing for him to lower the window.

"Sam, remember what I said about that asshat. And try the basement."

* * *

"So, what exactly are we looking for?" Diana asked walking around the basement of the building cautiously

"I'll let you know when we find it." He knew they needed to look in the basement but that was all that Rian had told them.

"Sam!" Diana called and Sam ran over to where the woman was freaking out. She had seen Claire walking towards her.

"Hey, I'm here," Sam said, trying to call Diana down. "What is it? - What happened?"

"Claire." Diana breathed pointing to the window in front of her.

"Where?" Sam looked around but he couldn't see the other woman.

"She was here," Diana said, her breath quickening in panic.

"Did she attack you?" Sam asked Diana shook her head.

"No. No, she was just like reaching out to me. She was over there by the window." Diana moved to a shelf and started pushing on it. "Here, help me move this."

"All right." Sam said moving to the shelf, "I got it."

"Our little mystery word," Diana said when the shelf is moved. On the window in front of them is the word 'Ashland' Sam turns to the words mirrored onto the wall behind them

"Now the extra letters make sense," Sam said pulling out his EMF and walking towards the other wall.

"What is that?" Diana asked curiously

"Spirits and certain remains give off electromagnetic frequencies." Sam explained, "So if Claire's body was here,"

"-that would indicate that?" Diana finished

"Yeah." Sam confirms, "Well, that's the theory." He added. He put the EMF back in his pocket and took a step back from the wall before kicking it.

"Yeah" He repeated breaking the brick off the wall and looking in the little hole he'd made, "Yeah, there's definitely something in there. You know, this is bothering me."

"Well, you are digging up a corpse." Diana quipped

"No, not that." Sam grunted with some mirth, breaking the wall more, "That's, uh, pretty par for the course, actually."

"Then what?" Diana asked

"It's just I mean, no vengeful spirit I've ever tussled with wanted to be wasted, so why the hell would Claire lead us to her remains? Doesn't make any sense."

"All right," Diana said as Sam reaches in to grab the bag in the wall

"Here." Sam said, "Give me your hand."

The two of them pulled the bag out and set it on the ground Sam opened it and they looked at the body for a moment before Diana compared her wrists to Claire's.

"Her wrists," Diana said when she sees that they look similar

"Yeah, they'd be bruised just like yours," Sam said as Diana reached for the necklace that Claire was wearing. The necklace was triangular with roses and a silver chain.

"That necklace mean something to you?" Sam asked

"I've seen it before." Diana said cautiously, "It's rare. It was custom-made over on Carson Street." She reached in her shirt and pulled out her own necklace, showing it to Sam, "I have one just like it."

* * *

While Rian did know how to hotwire a car she wasn't good at it. She was even worse at breaking and entering on her own. For unknown reasons, the impound lot was closed despite what the clearly printed hours had stated. Rian was able to hop the fence and locate the impala but getting it out of the lot was another matter.

After hotwiring the car she went to the gate and attempted to pick the lock. It was a lot more difficult than the locks that Dean and Sam had started her practicing on. If Rian didn't fear the wrath of Dean Winchester she would have used the Impala to break the cheap looking gate.

It was after breaking a lockpick that Rian noticed how poorly chained the lock was to begin with. After some maneuvering, she was able to lift the chain off the gate and swing the thing open. She sprinted back to the impala, her heart racing.

Traveling through Baltimore in the middle of the night in a 1967 Chevy Impala was not where Rian thought she would ever be at any point in her life. And when the red and blue lights started flashing behind her she cursed every being in every universe capable of bringing her there. She couldn't afford to be pulled over.

Rian's foot suddenly felt like lead as she picked up her speed. She was not used to driving the old vehicle, or anything, at such high speeds. In a spur of the moment decision Rian took a sharp right and by some stroke of luck the cop car sped past. She slowed down immediately and circled around so that she was going to the same direction but on a parallel street.

Rian's heart was still pounding when she made it to the road that Diana had told her about without any further incident. It was only after seeing the giant tree that she pulled off to the side of the road. She didn't want to risk Pete spotting the impala further back on the road.

Pushing her growing anxiety away Rian quickly went through the trunk of the impala and started digging around for a flashlight and a gun. There was no way that she was going into this unarmed. She checked her phone, wincing despite the screen being dimmed. She still had around thirty minutes until Pete and Dean were supposed to show up.

Rian had to force herself not to think about the fact that she was in the middle of the woods at night. She loved being outdoors at night but only with other people. A sense of paranoia crept up on her, causing her to look over her shoulder and click off the safety of her gun.

It wasn't even the idea of monsters that was freaking her out. She crept to the road and started back the way she had come, looking for the tree with the convenient clearing. After a ten minute search, Rian started to panic, thinking that she had gone the wrong way. It was only the sound of voices that told her she had the right place.

"You're a cocky son of a bitch," Pete said, not noticing Rian creep up to the front of the van. She made eye contact with Dean and winking at him."You think those people in St. Louis are gonna buy that crap you're paddling? Here's the deal-"

"I'll tell you what the deal is. One move, one step, and I shoot." Rian told Pete, who started and turned to her, drawing his gun at the same time. She shot, purposely missing both him and Dean. "And I'd be careful, I'm aiming at your thigh right now, but I'm afraid my aim isn't that good. I might hit some precious jewels of yours."

Pete paled and Rian grinned manically at the man. They stayed that way for a moment before Pete noticed Rian's hands shaking.

"I don't think you're really going to shoot me." Pete said with a smirking, pointing the gun at Dean now, "which really sucks for this here friend of your."

The shot rang out and Rian flinched at the impact of a bullet on skin. Pete dropped his gun and clutched at his thigh, uncomfortably close to his precious spot. Rian lowered her gun before running over to Dean.

"Yeah, you really shouldn't turn your back on the one with a gun, dumbass," Rian told him, her voice deadly quiet.

Pete just glared at her, he was trying to staunch the flow of the blood. Rian had to look away, feeling very uncomfortable with herself. She had shot an actual human being. Sure, he was worse than a lot of monsters, but still.

Not even a minute later Diana and Sam showed up on the scene. Sam ran over to Dean and Rian while Diana went to confront the injured Pete. She shot Rian a questioning look to which she shrugged and did her best not to throw up.

"Pete!" Diana yelled, drawing the man's attention to her.

"Diana? How'd you find me?" Pete gasped out.

"I know about Claire," Diana said, completely ignoring the blood pouring down Pete's leg.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Pete said calmly, getting control of his body's senses

"Why are you doing this?" Diana asked.

Rian wondered why Diana hadn't pulled out her gun yet. It took her a moment to realize that Diana couldn't see Pete's gun which his body was partially hiding. She wanted to warn Diana but she didn't want to distract the woman and escalate the situation.

"I didn't do anything, Diana." Pete lied, trying to garner sympathy

"It's a little late for that," Diana remarked snidely

"It wasn't my fault." Pete tried to explain, "Claire was gonna turn me in. I had no choice."

"And Tony? Karen?" Diana asked with disgust.

"Same thing." Pete said," Tony scrubbed the money. Then he got skittish. And then he wanted to come clean. I'm sure he told Karen everything. It was a mess. I had to clean it up. I just panicked."

"How many more people are gonna die over this, Pete?" Diana asked

"There's a way out." Pete explained, "This Dean kid is a friggin gift. We can pin the whole thing on him. Okay? No trial, nothing. Just one more dead scumbag."

"Shut up." Rian said coldly, "Shut the fuck up you piece of shit."

Pete turned to glare at her and winced at the look she had trained on him. He flexed his hand over the gun, checking to make sure the safety was off.

"The next thing you're going to say is that you still love Diana. Which, I might add, is a load of bullcrap." Rian growled, "Diana hear is going to shoot you, you're gonna fight through the pain and Diana is going to end up killing you." Rian's voice suddenly became an offbeat sort of cheerful, "You're not even worth killing. Peter Sheridan. No. You're going to shut the hell up right now or I'll shoot. Saving about two minutes of time."

"Rian," Sam said cautiously and Rian glanced at him before looking back to Pete.

"But I-" Pete started and Rian shook her head.

"I'm not fucking kidding. I've seen monsters who are better than you. Fucking hell, the very King of Hell is a better man than you'll ever be. So shut the fuck up. Put your gun down right now."

The death omen Claire was right behind Pete then, giving Rian all the warning she needed. She aimed the gun and shot Pete before the man had the chance to get his own weight off of his gun. The man's eyes went dull and he slumped forward, a hole right above his left brow.

"Thank you," Rian said graciously to Claire, who disappeared a second later.

Everyone was silent for a moment before the realization of what she had just done hit Rian hard. She was able to crawl away from the other three people before throwing up into the bush. The sound of her retching seemed to break the spell cast on the other three as they started to move.

Sam went straight for Rian while Diana went to check on Pete. Dean was left in the middle, still in handcuffs.

Rian jumped at the feeling of hands on her shoulders but then leaned into the warm touch. Sam didn't say anything but Rian accepted the comfort nonetheless. They settled into a strange trance, Rian shivering against Sam who was rubbing her back.

It was the grunt of "can I get some help here?" From Dean, that broke them out of the trance. Sam squeezed Rian's shoulder then went to pick the lock on Dean's handcuffs.

Rian watched numbly as Dean and Sam spoke with Diana. She felt numb. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh, knowing that the numb would probably persist for days. It wasn't really something that she didn't have experience with, but she had had help the last time it had happened.

"You doing all right?" Sam asked Diana quietly, making sure to keep Rian in his sight.

"Not really," Diana said, "The death omen, Claire, what happens to her now?"

"It should be over." Sam assured, "she should be at rest."

"So, uh, what now, officer?" Dean asked

"Pete did confess to me." Diana said, "he screwed up both your cases royally. I'd say there's a good chance that we can get your cases dismissed. And Ms. Gale won't have to go to court since it was self-defense."

"You could take care of that for us?" Dean asked, shocked.

"I hope so." Diana said, "But the St. Louis murder charges? That's another story. I-I can't help you." She paused, "Unless I just happened to turn my back and you walked away. I could tell them that the suspects escaped."

"Wait." Sam said," Are you sure?"

"Yeah, she's sure, Sam," Dean said elbowing Sam in the side

"You could lose your job over something like that." Sam reminded Diana.

"Look, I just want you guys out there, doing what you do best." Diana smiled, "Trust me. I'll sleep better at night. And Dorothy needs you two right now." The brothers both sobered at that, "Listen, you need to watch your back. They're gonna be looking for both of you right now. Get out of here. I got to radio this in."

"Hey, uh you wouldn't happen to know where my car is by chance," Dean asked hopefully

"Dorothy has it," Diana said

Rian blinked when everyone turned to her, she pointed in the direction she had parked the impala. The movement brought the body that had once been Pete into her sights. She turned and threw up again.

Diana came over and placed a gentle and understanding hand on Rian's shoulder. Rian glanced at the woman and tried to smile but found that she couldn't

"Finley Errian Ora Fitzgerald," Rian said to Diana, startling the woman

"What?" She asked

"My name, it's Finley Errian Ora Fitzgerald. I go by Rian." Rian explained, talking was distracting her, "not Dorothy. Just wanted you to know.

Diana smiled at her before pulling Rian into a bone crushing hug, "Thank you, Rian."

When Rian was released Sam was there to help her stand up. He kept an arm around her shoulders, not wanting Rian to fall to the ground. He used his body to shield her from the sight of Pete as he led her to the waiting impala.

* * *

 **A/N: I write less when I actually have time to write, turns out. I'm adding in an episode I didn't do in the original write. I'm also deleting "It's Not Possible" on April first (not a joke). My spring break is over this week too. Which means I'll be writing more...**

 **-Ryn**


	12. Demons and Dean and Deals, Oh My!

Rian was staring listlessly at the wall of the diner. Sam and Dean had tried to get her to eat, but nothing was working. The last time she had eaten anything she had thrown up. In as few words as possible, she had tried to explain that she would be okay in a few days, that this was her way of coping. The Winchester's both ignored her.

Honestly, she was getting tired of their overbearing motherly attitudes. She actually wasn't in danger of breaking or anything. She just needed two more days and then she would be able to push everything aside.

"Fin, you really should-" Sam started, but Rian had had enough.

"I know what I need, Sam," Rian snapped knocking over her chair in her haste to stand up. "What I don't need is for you two to coddle me. I'll be in the Impala; please give me ten minutes before you guys follow."

She slammed her fist on the top of the Impala before giving up and jumping onto the trunk. Dean could deal with it. She placed her head in her hands and let out a sigh. Rian needed to get out of this funk. The last time she'd gotten like this had been after her parents died. She had spent three weeks holed up in her apartment before she suddenly snapped out of it and started participating in society again. Sam and Dean were not going to give her three weeks, they hadn't even given her three days.

What Rian needed was a hunt. Something for the three of them to focus on that was not her inability to adequately cope. Rian grabbed a newspaper from one of the stands and started perusing it for something that they could do. She searched for anything that could be a hunt.

She was still looking when the boys came out fifteen minutes later. No one said a word as the three piled into the Impala. Sam and Dean seemed to have come to a decision not to bother Rian until she was ready to be disturbed.

Rian hardly noticed when they stopped, and she was led to a room that the boys had gotten them for the night. She was engrossed in finding a case, and they had decided just to let her be, whatever it took to get Rian out of her current slump. It was around midnight when she finally found something for them to take a look at.

With a glance at the clock, Rian determined that waking the brothers now was not worth it. The case would still be there the next day. She glanced around the room and found that there was no couch or cot. The brothers were both laid out on their respective beds, leaving Rian nowhere to sleep.

Normally she would be okay with that. She knew that the brothers needed their rest, and they slept better on the beds. But she was more exhausted than she had felt in weeks. As she saw it she had three options; sleep on the floor, make a bed out of the chairs, or sleep next to one of the brothers.

She wasn't sleeping on the floor, and the chairs were definitely not stable enough. So now Rian just had to choose which brother she would rather be stuck next to all night. Not that it was much of a choice. Dean's snoring had progressively been getting worse. She would rather be squished to death by the Moose than have to deal with Dean.

After changing into sweats and a t-shirt Rian carefully crawled into Sam's bed, trying her best not to wake him. He shifted over, but there was nothing else to even indicate that he knew Rian was there. Rian was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillows.

(000)

"Rian, hey, Fin." A warm voice called from somewhere but Rian wasn't able to focus on the sound with all of the screaming around her. Someone grabbed her shoulders, and her eyes flew open as she tried to sit up.

Her forehead connected with something solid and Rian fell back onto the bed with a groan. She blinked a few times and looked up at Sam, who was clutching his forehead.

"Sorry Sam," Rian apologized while rubbing her forehead and wincing at the small bump she could already feel, "thanks for waking me up."

"No problem Rian," Sam smiled gently before sitting on the bed next to Rian, "are you okay?"

"I'm getting there, I'll be better soon," Rian told him with a small smile.

"Good. You do know that Dean and I are here for you, right?"

"Yeah Sam, thanks," with that Rian threw back the covers of the blanket and shifted to get out of the bed before looking down with a wince.

Sam watched Rian in confusion before looking down to see what had caught her attention. Without hesitation Sam scooped Rian up, causing her to squeak.

"Sam, what are you doing?"

"Helping," was all the giant offered as he carried Rian to the bathroom and started the shower for her.

Rian stood there helplessly for a moment watching for as Sam left the room. She hadn't had the chance to move when he was back with a box of her pads and a change of clothes.

"There you are," Sam said after setting the items on the counter. He didn't give Rian the chance to respond before he had shut the door.

After her shower Rian went to take care of the sheets only to find that they had already been replaced. She glanced at Sam with a raised eyebrow, but he was reading one of the tabs that Rian had left open last night. Dean was nowhere to be seen.

"Thanks, Sam," Rian said before throwing herself on the bed Dean had occupied and curling into a ball. She was starting to get cramps and knew that the week was going to be unpleasant.

"Here," Sam said, offering Rian a glass of water and some Advil.

"You're good at this," Rian commented, taking the water and washing down the pills with it. She set the glass on the nightstand and leaned back against the headboard to better watch Sam as he went back to the table.

"Jess had terrible periods. I guess I got good at dealing with them," Sam shrugged, not looking at Rian, "and I want to help you Fin, anything I can do to help just let me know."

"Thank you," Rian said, surprised that Sam was willing to talk about Jess with her, "Where's Dean?"

As if she had summoned him Dean entered the room with three take-out bags and three drinks in a to-go carrier. Rian smiled at the prospect of food, she could feel the telltale beginning of cramps and knew that having food would help, that and running, which she really needed to do more of.

"Well, that answers that," Rian said after the door was shut, she watched as he set the food on the table, unwilling to move quite yet, "what'cha get, Dean?"

"Food," Dean said, tossing a bag to Rian, "assumedly edible."

"Ah, edible food, my favorite," Rian smirked before opening the bag. Inside was a breakfast burrito. Rian smiled as she unwrapped it, breakfast burritos were quickly becoming her favorite food.

"So that hunt you found," Dean started after he had finished his own burrito, "you wanna check that out today?"

"I thought you would never ask," Rian grinned. She grabbed the burrito wrapper and balled it up before tossing it in the trash. When she finished her hot cocoa, she got up and went to brush her teeth. As soon as she was ready to go, they were off.

(000)

Dean glanced in the rearview mirror at the sleeping Rian before turning to Sam. His brother was staring out the window, apparently thinking about something. Dean was sure it had something to do with Rian, but he wasn't sure what.

"Penny for your thoughts?" He asked just loud enough to not startle Rian out of her sleep.

"I'm wondering if it's really safe for Rian to keep hunting with us," Sam said after a moment, "we could just leave her with Bobby-"

"Sam," Dean stopped him, "remember last time we tried to decide things for her? She's a big girl. I - I'm starting to sound like you."

Sam sighed, shaking his head, "I know, Dean, I just... I worry."

"Yeah well, maybe you should let Rian make her own decisions, Sam," Dean said before turning up the music.

He wouldn't admit it to either of them, but Dean was growing fond of the girl. Seeing her completely human reaction to shooting Pete on their last hunt had endeared him to her more than he cared to admit. Rian was slowly becoming the sister he never wanted.

When they pulled up to the motel, Dean decided to carry Rian in, rather than wake her up. He knew that she hadn't been sleeping very well the past few weeks. Dean ignored his brother's surprised look as he covered Rian with the blankets.

After that was done Dean and Sam carried in their bags and set up the salt lines. When everything was done Dean took a shower and grabbed a beer, intending to relax.

"I'm not the only one that worries," Sam remarked when Dean was settled.

"Shuddup," Dean grunted, ignoring Sam's smirk, as he grabbed the remote and turned on the TV to watch something mind numbing.

(000)

"So much for our low profile," Sam groaned the next morning as he was reading the news on his laptop. Rian was still asleep, and the boys had decided to give her until ten before waking her up, "You got a warrant in St. Louis. You're officially in the Feds' database."

"I'm like Dillinger or something," Dean grinned, not taking Sam seriously.

"It's not funny," Sam protested, "Makes it harder, we gotta be careful."

"What do they got on you?" Dean asked moving to read over Sam's shoulder even as the younger man moved his laptop away.

"I'm sure they just haven't posted it yet," Sam said when they had found nothing about him.

"No accessory? Nothing?" Dean asked before gesturing to a paragraph that mentioned Rian, "I mean, look at this, even Rian got something."

"Shut up," Sam groaned

"You're jealous," Dean teased, poking Sam in the side.

"No, I'm not," Sam protested shutting the laptop.

"Uh-huh. All right," Dean nodded, not believing Sam, "what do you got on the case there you innocent, harmless young man, you?"

"Shouldn't we get Rian up first?"

"I'm up," Rian said, startling both the men, she laughed at them, "for two grown hunters you two are sure easy to surprise. I've been awake for twenty minutes now."

"What the hell," Dean growled, "why do you have to do that to us?"

"It's fun," Rian shrugged before sitting in the spare chair and gesturing for Sam to continue. The man shook his head in amusement but did just that: "architect Sean Boyden plummeted to his death from the roof of his home a condominium he designed."

"Build a high-rise and jump off the top of it," Dean said sarcastically, "Classy. When did he call Animal Control?"

"Two days earlier," Sam informed.

"Did he actually say, black dog?"

"Yeah," Rian interjected, "Vicious, wild black dog. The authorities couldn't find it, no one else saw it. They're still trying to figure out how a dog could get past the doorman and up the elevator of the town's best joint. After that, no more calls he doesn't show up for work. Two days later he jumps."

"We're dealing with an actual black dog?" Dean asked

"Well, yes," Rian said after a moment of contemplation, "technically yes."

"What do you mean?" Dean questioned.

"Well, I can't tell you what I mean," Rian said, "because I don't exactly remember all the details and I pretty much know as much as you guys right now."

"What's the lore on it?" Dean asked then, turning to Sam who was reading the information that Rian had gotten

"It's vague," sam said, looking at Rian who nodded, "There are spectral black dogs all over the world. Some say they're animal spirits, others, death omens. But anyways, whatever they are, they're big, nasty-"

"I bet they could hump the crap out of your leg. Look at that one," Dean interrupted glancing at the picture Rian had printed, Rian and Sam both raised an eyebrow at the man. Dean noticed and said sheepishly: "What? They could."

Rian shook her head before standing, "I'm gonna shower then we can head out, that sound good to you two?"

(0000)

The trio found themselves at the house of one of Sean Boyden, a recent victim's, business partners. Rian was sitting in between the Winchesters with her hair still a little damp but the area that she had shaved ages ago was more recently redone, courtesy of one Sam Winchester. She was wearing a black pencil skirt and a white blouse that she kept on fiddling with. It got so bad at one point that Sam had to elbow her in the side to get her to stop.

"So you and Sean Boyden were business partners for almost 10 years, right?" Dean asked the man who was seated in a loveseat across from the three of them.

"That's right," The man, Aleks, confirmed. He was an older businessman who needed a haircut and a better deodorant, " One more time, this is for-?"

"A tribute for Mr. Boyden," Rian supplied, "Architectural Digest"

Aleks started to laugh and the three of them raised an eyebrow each at the man. He found it oddly disturbing how in sync they were.

"Funny to you?" Rian asked, her voice flat.

"No," Aleks shook his head with enough mirth to tell Rian that he was lying about it not being funny, "It's just a- Tribute."

"Yeah," Sam confirmed slowly.

"See, Sean always got the tributes," Aleks said, barely able to contain how bitter he was, "He kills himself leaves me and his family behind - but he gets another tribute."

"Right," Rian nodded, "Any idea why he'd do such a thing?"

"I have no clue," Aleks told them, "I mean, he lived the charmed life."

"How so?" Dean asked

"He was a flat-out genius," Aleks explained, "I mean, I'm capable, but next to him It wasn't always that way, either."

"No?" Sam asked.

"Wanna know the truth?" The trio nodded so Aleks continued, "There was a time when he couldn't design a pup tent. Hell, 10 years ago, he worked as a bartender at this place called Lloyd's. Complete dive."

"Right," Dean said, "So, what changed?"

"You got me," Aleks shrugged, "But overnight, he gets this huge commission and he starts designing. He starts designing the most ingenious buildings anyone has ever seen. It was like the level of Van Gogh and Mozart-"

Aleks stopped talking to stare at Rian who was trying to hold back a laugh. She looked at the three men and shrugged helplessly.

"What? It's funny," she protested, "True geniuses, they seem to die young, don't they?"

"To have that kind of talent," Aleks continued, "Why-? Why just throw it away?"

"Who knows," Dean shrugged as the trio stood, "I think that's everything we need, thank you for your time."

"No problem," Aleks said, shaking each of their hands before showing them out.

(000)

"So?" Rian asked Dean when he got into the impala after talking to the secretary at the Animal Protection Agency.

"The secretary's name is Carly," Dean informed, "She's 23, she kayaks, and they're real."

"You didn't ask if she's seen any black dogs lately?" Sam wondered Dean shook his head.

"Every complaint called in this week about anything big, black or dog-like," Dean said, handing Sam the things he'd found out, "There's 19 calls in all. And I don't know what this thing is."

"You mean Carly's MySpace address?" Rian asked, looking at the note Dean had handed Sam with a raised eyebrow.

"MySpace, what the hell is that?" Daan asked as Rian and Sam exchanged looks, "Seriously, is that like some sort of porn site?"

(000)

"I swear, if this is another Pomeranian barking in the neighbor's yard-" Dean said when they'd gotten to the fifth house on the list.

"Afternoon, ma'am," Sam said elbowing Dean as the door opened "Animal Control."

"Someone already came yesterday," The woman told them with a look of confusion.

"Oh, we're just following up," Rian assured, pushing her way to the front by elbowing Dean in the side, "We're looking for a Dr. Sylvia Pearlman."

"The doctor, well," The woman nodded suddenly unsure as she let the three into the house, "she- I don't know when she'll be back. She left two days ago."

"Okay," Dean said, "And you are?"

"I'm Ms. Pearlman's maid," The woman said as she moved around the kitchen, continuing her job.

"Where did the doctor go?" Rian gently asked as she looked around.

"I'm not sure," The maid said, shaking her head, "She just packed and went. She didn't say where. That stray dog, did you find it finally?"

"Not yet," Sam informed, "You know, you didn't ever happen to see the dog yourself, did you?"

"Well, no," The maid told them, "I never even heard it. I was starting to think the doctor was imagining it. She's not like that."

"So- I read she was a chief surgeon at the hospital?" Dean said, looking at a picture of the young doctor, "She's gotta be what, 42, 43? - That's pretty young for that job."

"Youngest in the history," The woman said proudly, "She got the position ten years ago."

"Huh," Dean said, "An overnight success, ten years ago. Yeah, we know a guy like that." Dean flipped over the picture before showing it to Rian and Sam, "Oh, look at this. Lloyd's Bar."

(000)

They went to Lloyd's after stopping by the motel so that Rian could grab some tylenol. She told the brothers that they needed to start carrying the medicine in the Impala so that she didn't have to worry about it anymore.

"Why is it so far out of the way?" Rian wondered as they pulled up to the bar, "I mean, who thinks 'let's go ten minutes out of town to go to a shitty bar?' Why would someone do that to themselves?"

The brothers both just shrugged as the three got out of the Impala and started walking towards the bar. Rian had been feeling more and more like herself since they had begun this hunt. She was surprised to find that she found hunting to be relaxing now. She still wasn't even decent at it. Dean and Sam were both back to babying her after her reaction to the last hunt. If she was being honest it was a little suffocating.

"We're ten minutes out of town at a shitty bar," Dean reminded the young woman.

"I don't know about you guys but I'm not here to drink, I do actually have standards" Rian said before stopping at the side of the road to point something out to the boys, "Looky here, these flowers, whatever they're called, are used in rituals. Particularly those of the summoning kind. And in the middle of this crossroads you'll find a box full of everything needed to summon a demon. Which includes a picture of the last idiot to make a deal."

"So these are demon deals for sure?" Dean asked as they set off for the bar.

"Fo' sho," Rian said before shaking her head, muttering to herself "never saying that again."

"You're strange," Dean pointed out, earning himself a raised eyebrow from Rian.

"Are you just now picking that up?" Rian asked sarcastically.

Dean just shook his head as the trio headed to the bar to ask questions. Dean and Sam did the talking while Rian hustled some poor sucker at pool. She had been learning from Dean the best ways to hustle and now it was her first time going it alone.

After the boys got their answers and Rian had hustled some poor sucker out of three hundred dollars the three of them went back to the motel. Rian immediately added everything they had learned today to her notes and started working on more research. Dean and Sam both watched TV for a while before going to bed.

When Rian checked the time again she realized it was later than she had intended to stay up. She stretched and shut the laptop before getting ready for bed. She noticed that Dean had taken the couch and made a mental note to thank the Winchester as she crawled into the other bed.

(0000)

"So it's just like the Robert Johnson legend, right?" Dean asked the next morning, "Selling your soul at the crossroads kind of deal"

"Yeah, except that wasn't a legend," Rian pointed out before Sam had the chance, "You know his music." Dean shook his head, "You don't know Robert Johnson's songs?" Rian exchanged an exasperated look with Sam, the both of them shaking their head,

"There's occult references all over his lyrics." Sam said, taking over as he read over Rian's shoulder "I mean: "Cross Road Blues," "Me and the Devil Blues" "Hellhound on My Trail"? The story goes that he died choking on his own blood. He was hallucinating and muttering about big, evil dogs."

"Now it's happening all over again," Dean concluded

"Yeah," Sam agreed, "We gotta find out if anyone else struck any bargains here."

"Great," Dean groaned, "So we gotta clean up people's mess for them? They're not exactly squeaky clean. Nobody forced them to play Let's Make a Deal."

"So, what?" Rian questioned, starting to get heated, "We just leave them?"

"Someone goes over Niagara in a barrel - you gonna try to save them?" Dean asked

"Dean," Sam said pointedly, shaking his head with a discreet glance at Rian who looked like she was about to go off at Dean.

"All right. Fine," Dean conceded, picking up the picture that Sam had gotten from the crossroads on there way out of the bar, "This guy probably summoned the thing. I'll go see if anyone knows him. If he's still alive."

(000)

"What's the guy's name again?" Sam asked as Dean led them up the stairs in a dingy apartment near downtown.

"George Darrow," Rian told him, "Apparently quite the regular at Lloyd's."

"His house probably ain't up next on MTV Cribs, is it?" Dean joked

"Yeah," Sam agreed as he observed a stain on the wall, "So, whatever kind of deal he made It wasn't for cash."

"Oh, who knows?" Dean said, "Maybe his place is full of babes in Princess Leia bikinis? I'm just saying, this guy's got one epic bill come due. Hope at least he asked for something fun."

"Look at that," Sam said, pointing to a plant that was hanging on the door to George's room.

"What is that, pepper?" Dean asked.

(000)

"Who the hell are you?" A man asked, staring at Dean, Sam and Rian. He wasn't as old as Rian had been expecting, closer to 40 than 50.

"George Darrow?" Rian asked, the boys having decided she would take the lead on this case.

"I'm not buying anything," The tired looking artist told her, almost slamming the door in Rian's face before Dean's voice stopped him.

"Looks like you went for the wrong shaker," Dean commented, "Usually when you wanna keep something evil out, you go for the salt."

"I don't know what you're talking about," George argued going to shut the door again, but Rian placed her foot in the doorway.

"Talking about this," She said, holding up what she knew to be a hellhound repellant but she couldn't quite remember the name of it.

"Tell me," Dean requested, "You seen that hellhound yet?"

George started pushing Rian's foot out of the door, and she sighed in a mix of exasperation and desperation "look, we wanna help. Please. Just five minutes."

"So, what is that stuff out front?" Dean asked after the three of them were let in. The room was covered in various paintings that the man had done.

"Goofer dust," George said and the brothers exchanged a look that wasn't missed by the man, "You boys think you know something about something but not goofer dust?"

"We know a little about a lot of things," Dean admitted, "Just enough to make us dangerous."

"What is it?" Sam asked

"Hoodoo," Rian and George said at the same time, Rian waved for the man to continue, "My grandma taught me. Keeps out demons."

"Demons we know." Dean said, glancing at Rian

"Well, then, keep it. Maybe it'll do you some good," George said as he glanced at his watch, "Four minutes left."

"Mr. Darrow," Rian said with a small frown, "We knew you're in trouble and before you say anything we are aware you don't want us to save you. And we can't force you to want it, but can you tell us who the others that made a deal were? I know the demon didn't leave."

"You're right, demon didn't leave," George said, "I never counted on our deal was done the damn thing stayed at Lloyd's for a week just chatting, making more deals.I tried to warn folks, but who's gonna listen to an old drunk?"

"How many others are there?" Dean asked

"This architect, a doctor lady." George said, handing the article he had cut out to Rian and Sam to take a look at, "I kept up with been in the papers. At least they got famous."

"Who else, George?" Rian asked.

"One more," George told the three and Rian smiled, "Nice guy too. Hudson. Evan, I think.

"I don't know what he asked for," George informed, "Don't matter now. We done for."

"No," Sam argued, "There's gotta be a way."

"You don't get it, I don't want a way," George explained, "She gets it, don't you, girl?"

"Look, you don't have-" Sam said, sparing a glance at Rian. She could tell that he was wondering why she was seemingly okay with George wanting to die.

"Look, I called that thing," George yelled before suddenly calming down, "I brought it on myself. I brought it on them. I'm going to hell, one way or another. All I want is to finish my last painting. A day or two, I'm done. I'm just trying to hold him off until the end. Buy a little time." George shook himself out of it and glanced at the trio, "Okay, boys, and lady. Time you went. Go help somebody that wants help."

"We can't just-" Sam tried to argue and Rian laid a hand on his arm to get his attention, she shook her head at him.

"Get out!" George yelled, "I got work to do."

"You don't really wanna die," Dean said, shifting his weight

"I don't?" George asked incredulously, "I'm- I'm tired."

Rian sighed and grabbed both of the brothers, dragging them out of the room. She nodded at George as she shut the door. With a sigh she turned and stalked out of the building. She knew the brothers were following and had question but she ignored them, instead pulling out her phone and typing out a message to Ash and Jo, knowing they could get the information she needed.

"Why-" Sam started only for Rian to kick his shin.

"Because, Sam, if there is one thing that I know about humans is that not everyone wants to be saved," Rian told the man, not looking at him, "And I can't save the ones that don't want to be saved. Now what I do know is there is a man, who sold his soul for the woman he loved, and he may be an idiot but he does not deserve to die. And we may be able to save him, now let's go."

(00000)

Rian knocked on the door before glancing back at Sam and Dean for assurance. They were letting her take the lead again but she wasn't quite confident in what she should be doing. She wasn't a trained hunter, the only thing she was really good at was research.

"Yes?" An older man with brown hair answered the door.

"Evan Hudson?" Rian asked, even though she knew it was him.

"Yeah,"

"Have you ever been to a bar called Lloyd's?" Rian asked, "would have been about ten years ago?" The man slammed the door, and Rian groaned before yelling, "come on, we're not demons. Why do they always assume we're demons?"

"Any other bright ideas?" Dean quipped, and Rian turned to glare at him before kneeling in front of the door and quickly picking the lock.

"Always," Rian replied, her glare morphing into a smirk.

"Evan?" Rian called as she led the boys into the house. She crept along until she found the room that Evan had holed himself into, "Evan, I know you're in there."

"Please don't hurt me," Evan pleaded

"We're not gonna hurt you," Rian informed him calmly, as she yet again picked the lock, "We're here to help you. We know all about the deal you made."

"What? How?" Evan asked as the door swung open

"It doesn't matter," Rian told him, entering the room and surveying their options for keeping Evan safe. While she knew what happened with Dean when he went off to visit the demon in this episode she could not remember what happened to Evan. "We're trying to stop it."

"How do I know you're not lying?" Evan asked.

"Well, you don't, but you're low on options there, buddy boy," Dean said as he entered the room behind Rian

"Can you stop it?" Evan asked, looking between the three strangers in his livingroom

"Don't know," Rian said, "but I promise we'll try."

"I don't wanna die," Evan said, running his hand down his face and leaning against a bare spot on the wall.

"Of course you don't," Dean said only to be elbowed by Rian

"Not now, Dean," she warned

"What did you ask for, anyway, Ev? Never need Viagra? Bowl a perfect game?" Dean asked snidely, "What?"

"My wife," Evan started, and Dean scoffed

"Right. Getting the girl. That's worth a trip to hell."

"Dean, stop," Sam warned, seeing that both Rian was glaring at him.

"No, He's right," Evan said, "I made the deal. Nobody twisted my arm. That woman, or whatever she was, at the bar- She said I could have anything I wanted. I thought she was nuts at first, but- I don't know, I was I was desperate."

"Desperate?" Sam asked

"Julie was dying," Evan explained, glancing between the three again.

"You did it to save her?" Dean asked

"She had cancer. They stopped treatment, they were moving her into hospice. They kept saying: "A matter of days." So, yeah, I made the deal." Evan defended, "And I'd do it again. I'd have died for her on the spot."

"Did you think about her in all this?" Dean asked

"I did this for her," Evan argued

"You sure about that?" Dean asked, ignoring the looks from both Sam and Rian, "I think you did it for yourself. So you wouldn't have to live without her. But guess what, she's gonna have to live without you now. And what if she knew how much it cost? What if she knew it cost your soul? How do you think she'd feel?"

"Okay," Rian interrupted, "that's enough. It's in the past let's focus on the here and now. Boys, do you have a plan?"

"I thought you were coming up with plans today, Rian," Dean said turning to the young woman with a raised eyebrow.

"I am, and I have, I was just wondering if you guys had a backup in case mine goes to shit." Rian said with a shrug and a small smile. "Sam, I need you to keep the hellhound occupied while Dean and I go on a little visit somewhere."

"What are you two gonna do?" Sam asked, looking at them with a questioning gaze.

"We'll go to the crossroads, summon the demon," Rian starts only for Dean to interrupt her.

"You are going nowhere near those demons, Rian." Dean commanded, "look, I know we said you could lead the case but Sammy and me, we draw the line at having you in the same vicinity as a demon."

"Wow, I didn't realize you cared about me so much Dean," Rian quipped, "but I am an adult."

"You're also a newbie, Rian," Dean argued with a glare, "I know you think you know a lot, but you're not ready for this by a long shot. Just stay here with Sammy, and I'll go exorcise the demon."

"So I'm ready to face a hell hound but not a demon?" Rian asked, already knowing she was going to lose this argument, "fine, I'll stay, but you better not fuck this up, Winchester."

"Whatever, Fin," Dean grumbled before exchanging a few words with Sam and heading out. When Dean's back was to her Rian did the mature thing and stuck out her tongue at the man.

"You're childish," Sam said as soon as Dean was gone shaking his head at the woman.

"Whatever," Rian grumbled, "so much for me calling the shots."

Sam wrapped an arm around Rian's shoulders and she leaned into him with a sigh. He gave her a squeeze a few moments later before dropping his arm and getting to work. Rian helped, following his instructions and talking to Evan to keep him calm.

(0000)

"So, what brings a guy like you to a place like this?" The demon asked, she was wearing an attractive brunette, Dean was distracted by her looks and didn't respond, "You called me?"

"I'm just glad it worked," Dean told the demon honestly. He had driven out to the same crossroads that everyone else in town had used and had put what he needed in a box. He'd been waiting only two minutes when the demon had shown up.

"First time?" The demon asked with a smirk

"You could say that," Dean replied with a shrug and a smirk of his own.

"Oh, come on, now, don't sell yourself short." The demon mocked, "I know all about you, Dean Winchester."

"So you know who I am?" Dean asked

"I get the newsletter," the demon joked but gave nothing else away

"Well, don't keep me in suspense," Dean said, trying not to show how uncomfortable this was making him. "What have you heard?"

"Well, I heard you were handsome, but you're just edible," she said, getting much too close to Dean for his liking "What can I do for you, Dean?"

"Maybe we should do this in my car," Dean suggested, getting his plan started, he'd received a text from Rian before starting telling him to keep safe, and that he would do, "Nice and private."

"Sounds good to me," the Demon agreed

(0000)

"What is that stuff?" Evan asked as Rian sprinkled a circle of the dust they had gotten from George around the man.

"Goofer dust," Rian replied, not looking away from her work.

"You serious?" Evan scoffed making Rian shake her head in exasperation. The man had questioned everything she and Sam had done since Dean left.

"Yeah, Afraid so," Rian said, with a sigh, "Look, believe me, don't believe me, whatever you want. Just whatever you do, stay inside this circle? Sam and I, and Dean too, we're trying to keep you safe, alright."

"That's the last of it," Sam told Rian as she finished up her circle. He had been sprinkling goofer dust on the windowsills and doorway. She sent him a grateful smile as the hunter and trainee prepared them for whatever was coming.

(000)

"So I was hoping we could strike a deal," Dean said as the two of them made their way to his Baby.

"That's what I do," the demon informed

"I want Evan Hudson released from his contract," Dean told her and she tilted her head to the side a little in confusion.

"So sorry, darling," She told him, "That's not negotiable."

"I'll make it worth your while," Dean told her

"Oh, really?" she was intrigued, and Dean could tell, "What are you offering?"

"Me," Dean said,

"Well, well, well," The demon said, somewhat surprised at the offer, "You'd sacrifice your life for someone else's? Like father, like son. You did know about your dad's deal, right? His life for yours? Now, I didn't make the deal myself, but, boy, I wish I had."

"After you," Dean said, ignoring the taunts even as he felt a bubble of doubt. He opened the door to the Impala for the demon.

"Such a gentleman," the demon teased, starting to get in the car before she looked down, growling at Dean, "A devil's trap? You've got to be kidding me."

(00000)

"What?" Evan said, getting the attention of Rian and Sam as he pointed at the window "You hear that?"

"No," Sam told him watching Evan turn to face the double door, panicked now, "Where?"

"Right outside the door," Evan told them, and the trio waited before there was a sudden banging on the door. Rian and Sam both moved to join Evan in the circle.

"Just don't move, all right?" Rian said in a tight voice, "Stay where you are, yeah?"

(0000)

"You stupid, stupid-" The demon growled at Dean, "I should rip you limb from limb."

"Take your best shot," Dean said, not thinking the demon was going to do it.

"No, I don't think so," The demon said, backing off Dean, "I won't put you out of your misery."

"Yeah? Why not?" Dean asked with a smirk.

"Because your misery's the whole point. It's too much fun to watch. Knowing how your daddy died for you. How he sold his soul." The demon taunted, "I mean, that's gotta hurt. He's all you ever think about. You wake up and your first thought is, "I can't do this anymore." You're all lit up with pain. I mean, you loved him so much. And it's all your fault. You blew it, Dean. I could've given you what you need."

"What do I need?" Dean asked

"Your father. I could have brought him back. Your loss. See you, Dean. I wish you a nice, long life." She stopped suddenly, "did your little tagalong ever tell you that she was there when your daddy made the deal? That she could have stopped him but she didn't?" She smirked when his jaw tightened, "no? I wonder what else she's keeping from you."

"You're lucky I've got a soft spot for lost puppies and long faces, though," The demon said, moving on and leaving Dean to wonder, the doubt and anger building up. He knew he shouldn't listen to the demon, but she was playing on doubts that Dean already had, " I just can't leave you like this. Besides, you didn't call me here to bargain for Evan. Not really."

"Can you bring him back?" Dean asked, getting straight to the point, "My dad?"

"Of course I can." The Demon shrugged, "Just as he was. Your dad would live a long, natural life like he was meant to. That's a promise."

"What about me?" Dean wondered

"I could give you 10 years. Ten long, good years with him," The demon promised, advancing on Dean, "That's a lifetime. The family can be together again. John, Dean, Sammy. The Winchester boys all reunited." She sighed, knowing she needed to use another tactic, "Look, your dad's supposed to be alive. You're supposed to be dead. This will just set things straight. Put things back in their natural order. Fix what that Rian chick broke. And you get 10 extra years on top. That's a bonus."

"Do you think you could throw in a set of steak knives?" Dean asked sarcastically smirking at the demon that had just walked into his second demon trap.

"You know, this smart ass, self-defense mechanism of yours-" the demon suddenly looked up, glaring at the hunter in front of her, "Dean."

"Now you're really trapped," Dean grinned, "That's gotta hurt."

"Let me out now." The demon growled

"Sure," Dean said, "We just gotta make a little deal here first. You call off your hellhound let Evan go. Then I'll let you go."

"I can't break a binding contract," the demon argued.

Dean hummed: "and by "can't" you mean, "Don't want to"? Last chance. Evan and his wife get to live to a ripe, old age. Going, going-"

"Let's talk about this," the demon pleaded "Okay."

"Gone," Dean smirked, ready to be rid of the demon.

"What are you doing?" The demon asked when Dean pulled out his dad's journal, flipping to the exorcism

"You're just gonna go on a little trip," he said, "Way down south."

He started the exorcism

"Look, forget Evan," The demon purred advancing on Dean, "Think of your dad."

Dean just ignored her.

"Wait," The demon said, making Dean stop. She quickly pulled him into a kiss.

"What the hell was that for?" Dean asked when he was released.

"Sealing the deal," The demon breathed

"I usually like to be warned before I'm violated with demon tongue."

"Evan Hudson is free," The demon assured, "He and his wife will live long lives."

"How do I know you're not lying?" Dean asked

"My word is my bond." the demon assured

"Oh, really?" Dean raised an eyebrow

"It is when I make a deal. It's the rules. You got what you wanted. Now let me go." She glared when Dean made no move to set her free, "You're gonna double-cross me? Funny how I'm the trustworthy one. You know you renege, send me to hell sooner or later I'm gonna climb out and skinning Evan Hudson will be the first thing that I do. I gotta tell you. You would have never pulled that stunt if you knew."

"Knew what?" Dean asked knowingly falling for her ploy, "Where your dad is. You should have made that deal. See, people talk about hell, but it's just a word. It doesn't even come close to describing the real thing."

"Shut your mouth, bitch." Dean growled

"If you could see your daddy, hear the sounds he makes - because he can't even scream" The demon taunted

"How about I send you back?" Dean said before growling as the demon left their meat suit. A confused woman stared at Dean in horror. He ran a hand down his face, knowing what she was thinking and she questioned him.

"What," She said numbly, "how did I get here?"

(000)

"Demons lie all the time, right?" Sam said trying to assure himself as he spoke with Dean while Rian was in the shower at the crappy motel, "Maybe she was lying."

"Come on," Dean groaned, taking a gulp of his beer, "Is that really what you think? - How could he do it?

"He did it for you," Sam said

"Exactly, how am I supposed to live with that?" Dean said, taking another drink, he was trying his best not to think about what the demon had said about Rian, knowing the girl needed some time. He was angry, not heartless, "you know, the thought of him wherever he is right now- I mean, he spent his whole life chasing that yellow-eyed son of a bitch. He should have gone out fighting. That was supposed to be his legacy, you know? Not bargaining with the damn thing. Not this."

"How many people did Dad save?" Sam asked, "Total?"

"That's not the point, Sam," Dean argued

"Evan Hudson is safe because of what dad taught us," Sam said, "That's his legacy, Dean. Now we're still here, man. So we gotta keep going. For him."

The brothers sat in silence for a moment listening to Rian's off-key singing coming from the bathroom. Dean finished his beer and grabbed another one.

"Hey, Dean?" Sam asked after Dean sat back down.

"Yeah?" Dean said, looking at his younger brother.

"When you were trapping that demon, you weren't- I mean, it was all a trick, right? You never considered making that deal, right?" Sam asked watching his brother carefully.

Dean groaned, wishing they were in the Impala and he could just turn the music up to cut off the conversation. Instead, he was going to have to go for diversion.

"The demon said something about Rian, too," Dean said, knowing this would distract his moose of a brother.

"What?" Sam said, "what did the bastard say?"

"That she was there when dad made the deal, that she could have stopped him but she didn't."

Sam was going to respond when they both heard the shower shut off.

(0000)

A/N: Alright guys, I can explain. I have been busy as all hell since my last update on this story. I was working pretty much 24/7 all summer and then I was in London for a month and then college started and I haven't had the chance to breath since like forty years ago (nevermind that I'm only twenty) but hey, here's the update. I am not happy with the quality and I'll probably edit the crap out of this eventually but for now I'm gonna focus on getting the next chapters out. Thanks for reading my story and sticking with it throught the Summer of Silence.


	13. Rian's in Charge

" _Come on Rian" Azazel purred. He had been trying to get Rian to speak of what she knew since his first visit with her. This was his fifteenth visit since then._

 _Rian looked away, glaring at the wall, and Azazel grabbed her roughly by the jaw. Rian gasped and then immediately went limp, managing to surprise the demon enough so that she could scramble away from him. She didn't get far before Azazel grabbed her again, this time by the hair. Not that she expected to succeed but a girl can dream._

" _Tell me what you know," Azazel demanded, his foul breath making Rian gag._

" _Never," Rian spat. She could feel herself waking up even as Azazel reached to slap her, or to break her neck, she honestly didn't know which one._

* * *

As Rian woke up sweating she could hear thrashing on the floor by the bed Sam had been laying on. She rolled out of her bed to find that Sam had fallen off. The man was an erratic sleeper at best. And anyways, it was Rian's turn for the bed.

She saw that Sam was having a nightmare and started to shake him when Dean walked in with a six pack and some jerky. He saw Sam and the smile he had been wearing dropped from his face.

"Sam? Rian?" Dean asked as the younger man woke up.

"Sorry, nightmare," Sam explained as Rian helped him onto the bed.

"Rivergrove?" Rian whispered, Sam nods, "We need to leave. Now."

Dean and Sam look at Rian, shocked. The girl had never ordered them to do anything in the months she had been with them. Dean wasn't excited about it but at a look from Sam he agreed

Rian packed her things and headed out to the Impala, the boys followed after her. Rian put everything in the trunk before slipping into the backseat, determined to catch some uninterrupted sleep.

"There are only two towns in the U.S. named Rivergrove," Sam was saying when Rian woke up a few hours later.

"How can you be so sure it's the one in Oregon?" Dean asked glancing at his brother in the passenger seat

"There was a picture, Crater Lake." Sam said then he smirked and gestured to Rian who was behind him, "And Rian told me."

"Rian told you?" Dean asked glaring at Rian through the rearview mirror, "And not me?"

"You've kind of been ignoring me for the past week, Winchester," Rian reminded Dean as she shifted in her seat to get more comfortable, "which I still don't know the reason for but that's okay, I guess."

"Okay, what else?" Dean asked Sam, ignoring Rian who rolled her eyes at the man.

"I saw a dark room, some people, and a guy tied to a chair," Sam said glancing back at Rian who was now staring petulantly out the window.

"And I ventilated him?" Dean asked pursing his lips at the thought

"Yeah." Sam confirmed, "You thought there was something inside him."

"What?" Dean asked "A demon? Was he possessed?"

"I don't know," Sam said, and Rian groaned, rolling her eyes at the brothers.

"I told you before, it's a demon virus." Rian told them, rolling her eyes, "If you two would listen to me then everything would be so much easier."

"All your weirdo visions are always tied to the yellow-eyed demon somehow," Dean said, ignoring Rian. She smacked him, and when he turned to glare at her she was looking out the window, "Was there any black smoke?" Dean asked

"No," Rian said, "Because he wasn't possessed… Damnit Dean if you're gonna believe that I came from a parallel universe the least you can do is listen to the advice I give you."

"You know what, Rian," Dean growled, pulling the Impala to the side of the road. He turned to face Rian, glaring at the girl, "I don't actually believe you're from a parallel universe. Hell, I don't know what I think you are. I honestly think you're a freak and I don't trust you."

"Oh." Rian said, her face going blank, "Okay."

Rian grabbed her bag from the floor and got out of the car before she went to the trunk, banging on it just to spite Dean. She smirked when she heard a faint growl from the man.

"Pop the trunk, Dean," Rian called to the front of the car, her voice empty. She was half afraid that Dean would just drive off leaving her with nothing.

"Fin," Sam said, getting out of the car to talk to her.

"Pop the trunk." She demanded instead, ignoring Sam

The trunk opened, and Rian grabbed her duffle bag from the back. She slammed the trunk to piss Dean of even more. She started walking down the road when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned to see Sam, and he began to talk, but she interrupted him.

"Don't, Sam." Rian said, holding up a hand, "I'm trying to help and he won't accept it. I do nothing, and he won't take this. I can't keep doing this. I'm still going to help, but I can't deal with Dean right now."

"Fin I-"

"Just go back to the Impala, go deal with the Croatoan case." Rian sighed waving a hand, "And if you really want to help, tell Dean everything. He's your brother, and if you two were just honest with each other, you'd avoid a whole lot of shit." She put her hands in her pockets, "Look, I know you two are going through a lot but you're so distant from each other, and it's only going to get worse."

Rian turned and started walking away. She pulled her phone out of her pocket. Sending her coordinates to Ash who would tell Ellen and Ellen would find someone to pick her up. She'd had a plan for if she needed to leave the boys. If they were involved in one of the more dangerous cases she'd let Ellen know and Ellen would pull her out of the case.

"Fin," Sam said, making the woman stop and turn to face him with a glare.

"I can't Sam, I can't be around someone who won't trust me," She yelled, the first time she's raised her voice at Sam, "He thinks I'm a freak. And maybe I am. I don't know Sam, but I can't be here right now."

Sam nodded, pulling Rian in for a quick hug before walking back to the Impala. Rian watched the Impala drive away and frowned. She couldn't let them handle this case alone. There were so many loose ends, and she knew that the brothers would need her help, whether or not the brother would agree to let her help was another story.

Two hours later Rian was in the car of one Dr. Bad Ass. Rian was surprised that Ash even left the Roadhouse. She greeted the man with a hug and then settled down for the ride.

"Ash," Rian said, entering the car, "We need to get to Rivergrove Oregon. I'm two hours late."

"You could have just stayed with the Winchesters, kitten," Ash said, hitting the gas pedal. Rian grimaced at the nickname Ash had given her.

"I had a fight with Dean. I couldn't stay there." Rian muttered, glaring out the window

"That bad, huh," Ash asked. Rian nodded glad that Ash wasn't one to push for information.

She convinced Ash to drive through the night, determined to beat the brothers to Rivergrove. As soon as she was out of the car she told Ash to leave town, knowing that

"C'ya Kitten," Ash grinned as he peeled out from the motel he'd dropped off her at.

Rian shook her head at the man as he drove off before going to get herself a room. She had created an alias for these times so that Sam and Dean wouldn't be able to track her. Rian checked in under the name Hannah Jackson. The room was just like every other motel room she had stayed in since meeting the brothers.

After a quick shower Rian had got to work, she had an advantage that the brothers did not, seeing as she knew what was going to happen. Honestly, she was surprised at how much she remembered from this case, Rian had figured that the longer she was there, the less she would recall from the show.

Shaking her head Rian pulled up her document on her laptop and reread everything she had written. When she felt she was prepared enough Rian pulled on her FBI outfit, grabbed her U.S Marshal badge, and set out to get to work.

* * *

"He was there," Sam said pointing out an older man sitting in front of his house. He had cropped hair and the way he held himself screamed military. Sam and Dean walked up to the house, and Sam addressed the man. "Morning."

"Can I help you?" The man asked Sam and Dean, taking in their outfits and smiling a little.

"Yeah." Sam said, "Billy Gibbons, Frank Beard. U.S. Marshals" Sam and Dean hold out their badges to the man.

"Ah," The man said, recognition dawning on him, "Your partner was here earlier, she told me that you'd stop by. The boy you're looking for is Duane Tanner, he lives up Aspen way."

Sam and Dean share a look before Dean looked back at the man, "Thanks master sergeant" The man gave him a weird look, and Dean supplied: "My dad was in the Corps. He was a corporal."

"What company?" The man asked curiously, remembering the brunette from the earlier mention that a close family friend was in the corps as well.

"Echo-2-1," Dean said proudly not knowing what the man was thinking.

"Your partner said the same thing," The man told Dean, "said a close family friend of hers was in the corps."

"Yeah, well, our families have been close for a long time," Dean explained, silently cursing Rian for not backing off, "Thank you for your time,"

* * *

Rian crouched by the window and peeked up over the sill of the large whitewashed house. Inside an older male and his son were smiling grotesquely at the woman they had tied to a chair. Rian shuddered, suddenly wishing she had Sam and Dean there. She knew she shouldn't have come by herself, but she needed to keep the woman safe. She was tired of people dying when she could save them.

Rian's plan was simple. Distract the two men until Sam, and Dean arrived. Shoot only if they attacked her or the woman. If Sam and Dean weren't there within the hour, then she planned to take the woman and run. That was assuming she wasn't taken out herself by the two men.

Rian checked again to make sure nothing had happened to the woman before she picked up a decent sized rock by her foot. She tossed the rock once to get a feel for its weight then chucked it at the front door. The rock missed the door but it hits a pot, breaking it. Rian jumped off the porch and landed heavily on the other side, luckily not falling to the ground behind her.

The two men run out of the house, and Rian shook her head at them. Even she knew to never leave someone unguarded. She picked up a rock next to her and chucked it to the woods. Luckily for her to two of them were looking at the pot, so they don't see where the rock had come from. She pulled her gun out of her waistband and waited.

Both men run to the woods and Rian used this moment to sneak through the door that they had left open. Maybe it was the Demon virus that made people stupid. Rian looked around the house, it was decorated in a way that told Rian that the family had been living there for a long time. The furniture was nice but dated. There were pictures cluttered on the wall. The carpet was stained and in obvious need of replacement.

After her cursory glance, Rian ran into the kitchen and quickly spotted the woman. She shushed her as she untied the woman, glancing behind her every few seconds to make sure the men weren't creeping up on them.

"Sh. Sh." Rian pleaded quietly, "You have to be quiet, Mrs. Turner, I'm just trying to help," Rian removed the woman's bonds with her free hand, the other one still holding the gun, "have they hurt you?" Rian sighed her relief when the woman shook her head.

Rian got the woman to her feet before she heard the door slam. She cursed and spun around, keeping the woman firmly behind her. Waiting for the two men to enter with her gun raised. Praying to God that Dean and Sam would get their asses to the house sooner rather than later.

"Stop where you are, or I'll shoot," Rian threatened with a growl, "I've killed a man before."

Things moved quickly, and Rian didn't have time to think. Mr. Turner ran towards her, and Rian shot him in the chest, going for the largest target, he dropped to the ground mere feet in front of her. The boy ran towards his mother and Rian turned to shoot him before the Turner's son could touch the woman. The bullet grazes the kid's ear, and he turned on her with a glare.

The boy looked over his shoulder at a commotion outside. Someone was trying to break down the door. With a wild look, the boy ran to the window and crashes into it. Taking off towards the woods. Rian ran to the window to shoot him, but she misses the shot.

"Fin," Rian heard behind her, and she turned to see a worried Sam and a livid Dean.

"Don't touch the body," She warned before she fainted.

* * *

"Hello?" Sam called out when they get to the clinic. Rian had only passed out, but Dean insisted that they take her to get checked out. Not that he'd tell Rian that, and he'd already threatened Sammy not to tell the girl "We need a doctor here."

"What happened?" The doctor, an older blonde woman, asked when she saw Rian being carried by the moose of a man.

"She fainted, and we don't know if she hit her head," Sam explained, moving the hair away from Rian's face, "And here is going into shock," Sam added gesturing to the woman who was leaning against Dean, who was also carrying Mr. Turner.

"Dr. Lee?" A young blond nurse called, popping her head into the room from the office in the back.

"It's okay." Dr. Lee told her before turning back to Dean and Sam, "Bring her in."

"Okay." Sam breathed, following the woman into the back.

"Hey," Dean said to the nurse, following Sam, as Dr. Lee went over to help Mrs. Turner into the back.

"Is that Mr. Tanner?" The younger nurse started " Was he attacked, too?"

"Uh, no, actually, he did the attacking, and then he got himself shot," Dean said glancing at the still unconscious Rian with worry. Sure, he didn't trust the girl, but he didn't want her death to be in his hands.

"Shot?" The nurse asked, glancing at the covered body to Dean

"Yeah," Dean confirmed

"And who are you?" The nurse asked, crossing her arms

U. S marshal. I'd show you my badge, but uh" Dean said adjusting the body on his shoulder

"Oh, sorry." The nurse said, blushing, "Bring him back here."

The nurse lead Dean back to a mortuary and he set Mr. Tanner down on the table before going out to where the rest of the group was. Rian was still out cold laid out on an exam table, and Dr. Lee was checking over Mrs. Tanner. Sam sat next to Rian with a hand on the girl's knee, his brows furrowed in thought.

"Wait, you said Jake helped him? Your son Jake?" The nurse asked, and Mrs. Tanner started to shake.

"They beat me up," Mrs. Tanner said, she gestured to Rian,"This young woman saved my life."

"I don't believe it." The nurse paled, and Dr. Lee gave her a warning look.

"Pam." She admonished the nurse before turning back to Mrs. Tanner, "Beverly, do you have any idea why they would act this way? - Any history of chemical dependency?"

"No, of course not." Mrs. Tanner denied, "I don't know why. One minute, they were my husband and my son, and the next, they had the devil in them."

"We've got to talk," Dean said to Sam who followed him out of the room, seemingly reluctant to leave Rian.

"Those guys were whacked out of their gourds." Dean said when they're out of earshot, "What do you think? Multiple demons, mass possession?"

"If it is a possession, there could be more." Sam said with a frown, "God knows how many."

"It could be like a freaking 'shiner' convention," Dean told Sammy with a groan.

"Great." Sam sighed "Of course, that's one way to wipe out a town. You take it from the inside."

"I don't know, man." Dean said skeptically, "We didn't see any of the demon smoke with Tanner or any of the other usual signs."

"We didn't see Tanner get shot, though," Sam pointed out

"Whatever." Dean conceded, "Something turned him into a monster. You know, if Rian would have taken out the other one, there would be one less to worry about."

"It was a kid." Sam argued, "And Rian did try, she wasn't raised into this like we were." Sam glared at Dean, "And you were the one who sent her packing."

"She chose to leave," Dean grumbled crossing his arms over his chest

"And you drove her to it!" Sam yelled before continuing quieter, "Dean, she lost her entire life. She was forced into a place that to her shouldn't even exist. She's trying to protect us and help us."

"She let Dad sell his soul," Dean growled out

"She tried to stop it. She can't do everything. And you telling her that you don't trust her broke her Dean." Sam said earnestly, "She literally had no emotion on her face, Dean. It was terrifying."

Dean nodded slowly before turning to walk back to the office where Rian, Mrs. Tanner, Pam and Dr. Lee were.

"How's the patient?" Sam asked going to sit by Rian but referring to Mrs. Tanner. Rian still wasn't awake.

"Terrible." Dr. Lee said before demanding: "What the hell happened out there?"

"We don't know," Dean replied honestly sitting down on a chair across the room from Rian and Sam. He worried about Rian that he really did hurt her too much. He'd been frustrated, and Rian was just playing into it. It really wasn't the girl's fault that she was the target of Dean's frustrations.

"Yeah? Well, you just killed my next-door neighbor." Dr. Lee said, storming over to Dean, placing her hands on her hips. Dean noticed the woman fully for the first time. She was gorgeous with brown eyes blonde hair and a slender figure.

"We didn't have a choice." Dean replied, "besides it was Rian who did that."

"Maybe so, but we need the county sheriff," Dr. Lee told him, "I need the coroner."

"The phones are down" Dean pointed out, having tried to call Bobby earlier for help.

"I know" Dr. Lee groaned, "I tried. Tell me you've got a police radio in your car."

"Yeah, we do, but it crapped out just like everything else," Sam explained, Dean looked at him and noticed that his hand was on Rian's knee again.

"I don't understand what is happening." Dr. Lee said, and Dean found that he agreed.

"How far is it to the next town?" Dean asked, standing up and brushing off his legs.

"It's about 40 miles down to Sidewinder." Dr. Lee explained.

"I'm gonna go down there and see if I can find some help." Dean told them, walking to the door of the office, "My partner will stick around and keep you guys safe."

"Safe from what?" Dr. Lee asked

"We'll get back to you on that," Dean replied with a frown, walking out of the room.

* * *

 _Rian opened her eyes to find that she was in a white room. She looked around expecting to see Dean and Sam, but there is no one in the room with her. She groaned and sat up trying to figure out where she was when she saw a table in the middle of the room with two chairs. A man was sitting at one of the chairs. She stood up and walked over, seated in the other chair before looking at the man._

 _Rian didn't recognize this person. He had dark brown hair and light green eyes. His face was well shaven and looked clean. He was nicely built with tanned skin. Rian realized that this man reminded her of Dean in not only looks but the way he held himself too._

 _Rian felt a small stab of pain as she recalled Dean's words from the other day. She had thought that Dean trusted her, as much as the man could trust anyone that wasn't Sam. But she had apparently thought wrong. She was an idiot, believing that the brother's abnormally quick acceptance of her meant that they would actually trust her._

" _Who are you?" She finally asked, leaning forward with her chin resting on her interlocked fingers._

 _The man tilted his head in a motion that screams 'Castiel' at Rian, and she smiled a little, "Castiel?" She asked the man nodded, his eyebrows coming together._

" _You know of me?" Castiel asked Rian, and she nodded._

" _I happen to know everything that's going to happen for the next while." Rian shrugged, and Castiel nodded._

" _We are aware." He told Rian who rolled her eyes at his cryptic speech._

" _Then are you aware of how I got here?" Rian asked hopefully. She loved being with the Winchesters, but she did want to go home, back to where it was safe and Dean had no way to break her heart like he already had._

 _Castiel shook his head, "We have no idea, and all we know is that you can't be with the Winchesters anymore."_

 _Rian started and frowned at Castiel, "And why not?"_

" _You aren't right for them," Castiel told her, and Rian's frown turned into a glare._

" _I don't give a shit what heaven thinks, Castiel" Rian growled, "They're the closest thing I have to a family here and unless you can send me back I'm staying with them. Wrath of Heaven be damned."_

" _You'll ruin everything." Castiel tried again. At this comment, Rian turned furious._

" _Shut up," Rian growled, and Castiel looked at her appalled, "Just shut the hell up. I will not ruin everything. I know how important they are, more so than you know. Castiel, if anyone is going to ruin everything, it's going to be you. And so help me, I swear that if you or heaven try to take me from the Winchesters, I'll tell Azazel everything I know. I really will ruin everything._

 _Castiel nodded once before disappearing. Rian tried to wake herself up but found that she can't. She sighed and sat there for ten minutes before Castiel appeared again._

" _They have said that they'll let you stay with Dean and Sam Winchester, but the first time you ruin something they'll make sure the Winchester's never see you again," Castiel admitted gruffly. His voice wasn't nearly as deep right now as it is when he was in Jimmy Milton's body._

" _I'd love to see them try," Rian said and then suddenly Castiel was gone, and she found herself surrounded by darkness._

 _Rian started when she realizes that she was not alone. She looked over to see a young girl standing a few feet from her, watching her. The girl has red locks falling past her shoulder, she's about five six and has a smattering of freckles across her face. The girl blinks and her eyes are yellow._

 _Rian groaned, couldn't these people just leave her alone? Dean and Sam were in danger, and here she was, having tea parties with both Heaven and Hell._

" _Fin," Azazel greeted, and Rian groaned again, even louder._

" _Azazel," She acknowledged, crossing her arms over her chest, "Who's your new meat suit?" She asked crudely, not even caring._

" _Her name's Devin, she's a beaut, ain't she," Azazel said with a sneer that seemed misplaced on the girl's face_

 _Rian nodded absently, "You know I'm not gonna tell you anything."_

 _Azazel shook his head, "I know, but I can torture it out of you."_

 _Rian froze for a moment then she grinned, "Go ahead, I have the angels on my side."_

 _Azazel paled, Rian smiled, knowing she had managed to scare the demon. Azazel suddenly disappeared, and Rian could feel herself waking up._

* * *

"Fin," Sam said when Rian opened her eyes. She blinked at the man before grinning.

"I'm back." She sighed, relieved to not be with the demon or even the angel anymore.

"Welcome back," Sam said with an answering grin, pulling the girl into a relieved hug.

"Where's Dean?" Rian asked with a frown when she was released.

"He's going to find a way out of here and get help," Sam told Rian

"Okay, so he should be back soon." Rian said, before turning to Sam with trepidation "Sam. Don't be alone with Pam, please."

"Fin?" Sam asked with a tilt of his head.

"I don't know how, or when even. But Pam gets the virus, and she attacks you." Rian explained, "And I can't let that happen."

"Okay, Fin," Sam said, but Rian can tell that he doesn't plan on following up on their promise if he has to.

Rian nodded anyways. "Mrs. Tanner?" Rian asked, worried that she hadn't actually made it on time, even though she knew that she had shot and killed Mr. Tanner.

"She's fine, she's helping Dr. Lee with some research," Sam told her with a smile, watching as the girl relaxed

"Shit" Rian groaned, remembering that Dr. Lee had managed to get the virus.

"What?" Sam asked as Rian stood up, "Fin, what is it?"

"Dr. Lee, she cuts herself on one of the test tubes, gets the virus." Rian said quickly, walking out of the room and heading down the hall, "She doesn't try anything, though. Honestly I don't know how she does it, but I respect the fuck outta that woman."

Rian walked in and walked right up to Mrs. Tanner, her expression was fierce, surprising everyone in the room, especially Sam, "Did they hurt you? Did their blood come into contact with yours?"

Mrs. Tanner nodded, and Rian smiled slightly satisfied. She turned quickly to Pam, "You," She said pointing the finger at the woman, "You need to leave this room. Go to a check-up room and stay in there for a little bit… But first give Dr. Lee a sample of your blood."

"Who are you?" Dr. Lee asked, shocked at the woman suddenly giving commands.

Rian turned to her, expression still fierce. Rian didn't know how much had happened and honestly, she didn't know when certain things happened in the timeline anymore, so she was just taking precautions. "I'll explain when Pam is safely locked up. I don't know what's happened so far, so I'm being cautious, get her sample, Dr. Lee."

Dr. Lee nodded numbly and got to work. Rian watched and then lead Pam to a room with Sam following, an expression of concern plastered to his face, Rian ignored him. She locked Pam in the room without explanation then walked back to talk to Dr. Lee.

"I'm sorry about my harsh treatment earlier," Rian said with a small smile, "But I don't know if she's been affected yet."

"What do you mean yet?" Dr. Lee asked, turning from her microscope to examine the girl.

"I meant what I said, and I said what I meant," Rian grinned, "It's a long story one I don't have time for."

Rian walked up to Dr. Lee and grabbed the woman's hands off her lap. She looked it over for a cut and sighs, relieved.

"I know what the virus is, I know how to find it. Dr. Lee, if you're okay can I start doing to research?" Rian said, looking into her eyes earnestly, "you drop the test tube and get infected, and I want to prevent that."

"And how do you know this?" Dr. Lee asked

"I just do!" Rian snapped, unable to control her emotions, "I know that when you run Mr. Tanner's blood, you'll find that is lymphocyte percentage is high. Why? Because he's fighting a virus. What kind of virus you ask? Well, I don't remember the technical name for it if it even had one, but it's incurable, and it makes its victims aggressive. And I don't want you to get it."

Rian found herself breathing heavily at the end of her tirade. She could see the fear in Dr. Lee's eyes as the woman nodded and left the room. Rian shrugged quickly and walked over to Mrs. Tanner who also looked afraid of her.

Rian looked around at Sam who looked wary of her. Rian then realized that she had messed up. She had let her emotions run wild, and now everyone was wary. She desperately wished she could go home. Be anywhere but there. She no longer saw her time with the Winchesters as the magic she had seen it as before.

Azazel was visiting her in her dreams and truth be told that scared Rian more than anything she had been through so far. And oh how she wanted to tell Sammy and Dean. To let them tell her that everything was going to be alright.

But it wasn't going to be alright, and Rian knew that. She needed to stop this. To prove to herself that she was not useless. Maybe even prove to Dean that she could be trusted. Rian knew she wasn't going about this the right way, but she didn't know how else to do this, there was no _Parallel Universe Travel for Dummies_ that she could get on Amazon, hell, Amazon wasn't even big yet.

Rian sighed and glanced back at Sam before walking into the lobby. She sat in one of the chairs and breathed deeply to calm herself down. She knew that Dean was going to be there soon and so she quickly stood and went back to talk to Pam, her face an expressionless mask.

* * *

"I don't understand." Pam repeater and Rian groaned, this was the third time she had explained to the woman what was happening, why she had been quarantined, "What if we all have it? What if we all go crazy?"

"You've got to stay calm," Sam said to the woman while eyeing Rian, he was worried about the girl. She had been… Off… since the case with Pete

"All we can do is wait," Rian said with a shrug,

"The marshal is bringing help." Sam reminded them calmly

"I can't," Pam said after a moment and Rian rolled her eyes, she was afraid they'd get stuck in the back of her head with the amount of eye rolling she'd been doing recently.

"You're boyfriend's gone," Rian said, no outward emotion betraying the inner turmoil she felt, the disgust at herself. She felt like she couldn't control anything she said or did. This wasn't how Rian acted. "It's better if you stay here." She was still emotionless even as Sam cut her off

"Look, I know you're upset, alright." Sam said with a glance at Rian who was watching the ground, "But it's safer if you stay here for now. Help is coming." A knock sounded on the door, and Sammy looked up, surprised by the perfect timing, "There they are."

Rian had zoned out of the following conversation, not noticing the looks that Dean and Sam shot her way as the conversation turned to them discussing her recent behavior. Behavior that both Dean and Sam think Dean caused with his little fit the previous day.

"They've got one! In here!" Sarge called, and that was what broke Rian from her thoughts.

"What do you mean?" Rian asked turning sharply to look at Sarge, "Who is it?"

"The nurse - She's infected," Sarge explained, and Rian let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding.

"How?" Rian asked, following Sarge as he leads her to the room she had locked Pam in, "She hasn't left the room."

"She handled Mr. Tanner's body," Dr. Lee said cautiously, and Rian frowned. She hadn't known exactly how Pam had gotten infected in the show, but it made sense to her now.

She covered her face with both hands and takes a few deep breaths before turning to face Sam and Dean, "No one goes in there. You hear me, if anyone goes in that room, I will personally fillet them alive." she turned sharply to Sarge, "She's infected, do what you have to do quickly, don't let her infect ya, Sarge, I like you."

Rian walked away then, leaving the others to gape at her. She walked back to the lobby and sat on one of the chairs, staring at a wall. She refused to look at Dean when he sat next to her or even when he began speaking to her.

"Fin," Dean murmured, and Rian started bawling like a baby, much to the discomfort of Dean.

"I- I'm sorry Dean," Rian gasped, "I'm such an idiot. Every time I try to do something I fuck it up. I'm useless and arrogant, and I wouldn't be surprised if I died before season three."

"Fin" Dean repeated firmly, grabbing Rian's chin and forcing the girl to look at him, "I should be the one apologizing. I said some pretty dickish things yesterday, and I didn't mean any of it. I'm stressing about Sam, and it's getting to me. I'm sorry Fin. I really am."

Before Fin got the chance to reply there was a knock on the door to the doctor's office. Rian cursed and was up in a second, giving orders to Dean, "Dean. Bring him to the room you had me in, please. I need to do something quickly so stall him for a time, and Dean." Dean looked at her, and Rian gave him a small smile, "You were a dick. But we're good now,"

With that, Rian ran down the hall to where Sam and Sarge were moving Pam's Body. "Leave her there." Rian said walking up to them, she gave each man a pat on the arm, "Sam I need your help, Sarge go help Dean please."

"Who put you in charge, pumpkin?" Sarge scowled at Rian, not liking her tone, or orders, at all.

"I did," Rian growled, "Now get your ass out there before I cut off your precious jewels. I ain't messing around here, you don't know what the fuck we're dealing with, but I do."

Sarge merely shrugged after glancing at Sam, dropping Pam where she was before walking out to help Dean. Sam looked at Rian, and she shrugged.

"I hate people who call girls names like that," Rian explained with a grin before leading Sam to the room she had been in earlier. She tossed a can of spray paint and pointed to the ceiling, "Up there, devils trap, quickly I'll explain when I get back."

With that, Rian turned and ran back to Dean and Sarge who were tying up Duane. She walked over to them and give Duane a once over before moving on to Sarge and Dean, "Take him to the room I was in earlier, I need to speak with the doc for a moment."

"Ok, Fin," Dean said with a lazy smile before leading Duane to the room Sam was in. He was following her demands half to make up for his behavior and the other half to humor the woman.

Rian followed but stopped off at the room that Dr. Lee was in. She stood in the doorway making sure that Dr. Lee wasn't holding anything before clearing her throat. The doctor spun around and looked at Rian like a deer caught in headlights.

"I'm sorry," Rian whispered with a gentle smile and a shrug, "I was a bitch. I've had a lotta shit happen recently, but that's not an excuse. I like ya, Dr. Lee. I'm just trying to protect the people that I like… and it's not going the way I want."

"It's okay, Rian." Dr. Lee said with a smile.

Rian smiled back then lead Dr. Lee to the room that Sam, Dean, Sarge and Duane were in. Duane was just inside the door and was about to look up when Rian walked in, not giving him the opportunity

"Get him in the chair now." Rian said quickly, and Duane turned to look at her, "Move it."

They quickly move Duane and Rian smirked, "I know what you are."

"What?" Duane asked, glancing around quickly at everyone, looking every bit the scared boy.

Rian shrugged and stood up, exiting the room, motioning for the boys to follow her, "Don't touch him, he's safe just don't touch him, I need to talk to Sam and Dean quickly."

"This is Sam's vision," Rian said quickly when they're out of earshot of the others, "He's not infected… Not with the virus at least."

"What do you mean? Didn't you see that cut?" Dean said incredulously, feeling the urge to shake Rian.

"I'm saying that Duane Tanner is possessed," Rian hissed, glancing back at the room.

Sam and Dean exchange a look before shrugging.

"So that's what the devil's trap was," Sam commented

"No shit Sherlock," Rian said, punching his arm, "what did you think it was?"

Rian moved past them and walked back into the room and straight to Duane, who was blubbering like a baby. She glanced up, and Duane followed her line of sight before looking back to Rian.

"I know what you are." Rian reiterated again as Dean and Sam ushered Sarge and Dr. Lee out of the room, "And I must say, Daddy ain't gonna be pleased with you."

"He's told me about you, the Winchester's Bitch he calls you." The demon sneered, eyes going black to reveal that Rian was right.

"He could be more original, " Rian said nonchalantly. Her heart was racing at a hundred miles an hou, but Rian refused to let it show, "Bitch is such an old term and used so often that it's losing its meaning, he should come up with something better."

"He's told me about his little visits," The demon said with a smirk, smiling at Rian's wince

Sam and Dean glance at Rian who only shrugs, "I've also had visits from the tooth fairy." Rian said in reply to Duane, "Now, we're gonna exorcise you, and you're gonna run back to your Daddy, Bitch." Rian nodded to the brother who had pulled out John's journal, not quite having the exorcism memorized, "And you're gonna tell him that I will always be one step ahead of him and he better fucking run because I'm the kind of storm that no one wants to be in the middle of. I know more about him than he knows about himself."

With that, Rian turned to Sam and Dean and nodded. They exorcise the demon and Rian watched grimly before walking over to Duane.

"You okay, Duane?" She asked as Duane wakes up.

"Sure," Duane replied, and Rian smiles reassuringly

"I'm sorry about this, but we need to keep you tied up for a little longer," Rian told the boy, "We don't know if you're infected but we have to be safe. Are you okay with this?"

"Sure," Duane said again, and Rian stood up, grinning at the boy.

"Get him some food and water, I'll be right back. Don't untie him for the next four hours."

Rian left the room to go talk to Dr. Lee a bit more when she's called back by a yell from Dean. She entered the room at a run to see Duane with a bullet hole in the head and Sam with a cut.

"Fucking hell, I leave for two minutes," Rian muttered as she walked over to Sam, "Did he bleed on you?"

Sam nodded, and Rian sighed. She helped Sam up and lead the Winchesters to the room Dr. Lee and Sarge are in, forcing Sam to keep in front of her so that he didn't try to run off.

"He's been bled on, Duane was infected," Rian explained pointing a chair out to Sam and gesturing for him to sit down.

"Did his blood actually enter your wound?" Dr. Lee asked after disinfecting the wound at Rian's request

"Come on, of course, it did!" Sarge said from his position at the door.

"We don't know that for sure!" Dean yelled at the man, and Rian shakes her head at him, placing a hand on his arm and giving it a squeeze.

"We can't take a chance," Sarge said pointing the gun he had cradled to his chest at Sam.

"Dean, they're right." Sam said, "I'm infected. Just give me the gun, and I'll do it myself."

"Forget it," Dean said with a glare at everyone in the room

"Dean, I'm not gonna become one of those things." Sam said, and Rian sighed

"Can I say something?" Rian asked slowly raising her hand as if she was in school. Dean nodded at her, so Rian continued, "Sam isn't infected. Now, you may not trust me," She gestured to Sarge and Dr. Lee, "but he isn't. You two can wait in another room, we'll stay in here when daylight hits it'll be clear outside, and we can all get the hell outta here."

"But-" Sarge started, Rian glares at him.

"No and, ors, or buts. I know things that you could never dream of knowing, Sarge. If I weren't here, you would be dying tomorrow. I've fucking risked my ass to save yours. Now get out of the room before I change my mind and throw you out."

Sarge glanced between the four others who all shrug before he leaves. Rian smiled, proud of herself, and turns to Dr. Lee "Don't do any experiments. Stay away from the blood, I don't want you getting infected." She nodded at Rian and left the room quietly.

"What do you mean I'm not infected?" Sam asked when the three of them were alone in the room.

"I meant you're immune, but I didn't want to explain that to them," Rian said with a shrug.

"What?" Dean said, making a decent impression of a goldfish.

Rian sat on the bed in the room and hummed for a moment before responding, "It's the Demon blood," She said finally, "Azazel fed Sam demon blood when he killed your mom."

"Oh, and what did he mean about your little talks?" Dean asked Rian groaned, she'd been foolishly hoping he would forget that.

"He means that Azazel has been visiting in my dreams. It's why I've been on edge lately," Rian held up a hand when Sam tried to interrupt, "I didn't say anything because there's nothing we can do until Azazel is dead. So you guys should concentrate on that while I focus on being this 'storm' thing or whatever the hell I said to that demon asshat."

"How do we kill Azazel?" Dean asked.

Rian shrugged "I haven't been able to recall that, sadly. I wish I could so we could get it over with. It's like something is purposely blocking this little bit of information."

"Oh," Dean replied.

"Yeah, 'Oh' is right," Rian groaned, flopping back on the bed, "I mean, I've managed to scare him, so I'm hoping he leaves me alone for awhile, but who knows what the bastard is gonna do next."

"Uh, if you're to be believed then you do," Dean said, and Rian glanced at him.

"I know nothing where I am involved, Dean," Rian groaned as she sat up, "it's why I'm so worried about the time lines. Cause if I don't know what's coming up next I'm not gonna be able to help."

Sam thinks this over for a few minutes before going back to the whole Azazel debacle, "what's he want from you anyways?"

"My vast knowledge of the next ten-ish years of your collective lives," Rian admitted as she rolled over to her side and hid a yawn, "Oh and I'm sure he wants my soul as well."

"Great," Dean groaned, "one more thing to worry about."

"No," Rian argued, "I'll worry about this, you guys worry about ganking the bastard. Don't argue with me, Winchesters, sometimes I know what I'm doing."

"How reassuring," Dean said sarcastically before the three lapsed into silence.

* * *

The next morning Rian woke to find that Sarge and Dr. Lee had already gone. She double checked to make sure that they had everything before following Sam and Dean to the Impala.

"Can we just have a normal hunt for once?" Dean asked as he throws his things in the trunk.

"I'm from an alternate universe where your entire life is a TV show, and you're asking for normal?" Rian asked with a grin. She found that she felt twenty times better after telling Sam and Dean about Azazel.

"True" Dean agreed **,** getting into the Impala.

"Oh, yeah, my shit is still at the motel, think we can go pick it up?" Rian had asked before Dean started up the car.

"Yeah, sure thing, princess."

"I'm gonna maim you if you call me that again, asshole," Rian promised even as she smiled at the older Winchester.

* * *

A/N: A little gift becuase you all waited patiently for my last post. I'll be posting more regularly now but as a warning I am participatin gin Nanowrimo, which November will be busy for me so not as many posts.


	14. Missing Memories and Missing Sam

Rian was pacing paced nearby as Dean made yet another phone call to Ellen Harvelle. Sam had disappeared about one week ago, and she wasn't able to recall where he went. All she knew was that she forgot something imperative, but she couldn't remember what. It had been happening a lot to her lately. As she tried to recall future events she got nothing. And even worse than that the journal she had created at the beginning of her time in this universe was gone. Which was really really bad.

Rian wrapped her arms around her waist and stopped pacing to listen to Dean talk to Ellen. She could see the worry lines on his forehead and heaved a sigh, Dean to frowned at her.

"I don't know where he went or why. Sam's just gone," Dean said, bringing the phone down to look at it for a second before bringing it back to his ear "Hang on." He clicked a button on the phone, "Sammy, where the hell are you? Are you okay? Hey, hey, hey, hey. Calm down. Where are you? Don't move. We're on our way."

Dean turned and left the motel room, neglecting to grab his bag. Rian sighed and grabbed the bags for him before following Dean out to the Impala. She threw the bags into the back then slid in next to them, ignoring the look from Dean.

"Do you remember anything yet?" Dean said, more harshly than he intended to.

"If I remembered something I wouldn't feel so damn useless," The young brunette growled before running a hand down her face, "I don't know what happened Dean. I woke up on the day he disappeared, and I couldn't remember a damn thing."

Dean was silent and the two-hour ride to Sam was filled with only the Zeppelin songs coming from Dean's tapes. When they pulled up outside of the motel, Dean was the first one out of the car and Rian followed him quickly. They stopped outside of room 109, and Dean knocked on the door, shifting from foot to foot as he waited for a response

"Sam, it's me." There was no answer, "Sam!" Again nothing, Rian reached forward to try the door knob, jumping back behind Dean when the door swung open, "Sam?"

"Hey." Rian murmured when they spot Sam sitting on one of the beds.

"Hey, Dean, Fin," Sam said, glancing up at them then back at his hands.

"Are you bleeding?" Dean questioned, noticing the blood on Sam's hands.

"I tried to wash it off," Sam muttered, his voice sounding like a child's. Rian gulped, the lack of knowledge had left her feeling queasy, and the sight of blood pushed her to her limit.

"Oh, my God." Rian gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. She ran past Dean and to the open door leading to the bathroom. Rian flung herself down by the toilet and emptied her stomach.

"I don't think it's my blood," Sam explained, glancing worriedly back to Rian who was sitting by the toilet, breathing heavily. Dean forced layers to the side, looking for any injury.

"Whose is it?" Dean asked glancing from the blood to Sam

"I don't know," Sam said after a moment, Dean glanced at him sharply.

"Sam, what the hell happened?" Dean asked as he stood up, giving the younger Winchester his personal space back.

"Dean I don't remember anything," Sam informed the shorter man.

Rian stood up and groaned clutching her head. Luckily she didn't throw up again. When her head stopped spinning, and the pain receded, Rian went back out to join the two men.

"Fin, what's wrong?" Sam asked from his spot on the bed.

"Nothing, 'm fine," Rian said even as she took a deep breath to quell the second wave of "I'm all right, I should probably drink more water" she gave the brothers a small smile, "and anyways, your problem is more important than my dietary habits."

Dean glanced at Rian and Sam before picking up his keys and starting toward the door. He saw how pale Rian was and knew that she needed to see for herself that Sam was okay.

"I'm gonna go see if anyone saw anything" Dean explained before leaving the room.

Sam and Rian wait in silence, both of them looking at the floor. After five minutes of uncomfortable silence, Rian sat next to Sam on the bed, careful not to get blood on her clothes.

"I'm sorry I can't help you, Sam." Rian apologized as the younger Winchester glanced at her. Rian grabbed his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, "I don't know what's going on. But I do know that whatever happened it wasn't you. You could not have done anything wrong."

"Thanks," Sam said, giving her hand a squeeze back enjoying the feeling of comfort that the girl gave him.

When Dean came back into the room, Sam had showered and changed at Rian's urging. Both Sam and Rian were sitting at the table in the room playing a game of go fish. He shook his head at them as they sat down the cards and looked at him.

"What did you find out?" Sam asked, his voice quieter than normal.

"You checked in two days ago under the name Richard Sambora." Dean told the duo, sitting at the table with them, "I think the scariest part about this whole thing is the fact that you're a Bon Jovi fan."

"Dean." Sam admonished, not in the mood for Dean's comments.

"Your room's been quiet." Dean said, getting up and checking the fridge for a beer only to find it disgustingly empty, "Nobody's noticed anything unusual."

"You mean no one saw me walking around covered in blood?" Sam asked surprised, surely someone had seen something.

"Yeah, that's what I mean," Dean said, taking his seat at the table with him.

"Then how the hell did I get here?" Sam asked. Glancing at Rian who was being oddly quiet, "What happened to me?"

"I don't know, but you're okay, and that's what matters," Dean said, also sparing a glance to Rian who was staring blankly out the window, "Everything else, we can deal with."

"Oh, really?" Sam asked, standing up, "Cause what if I hurt someone or worse?"

"Sam," Dean warned, noticing how Rian flinched at the sudden movement

"What if this is what dad warned you about?" Sam warned not even looking at Rian.

"Come on, man." Dean begged, "Let's not jump the gun here. We don't know what happened. We got to treat this like any other job. What's the last thing you remember?"

"Me and you and Rian in that motel room in West Texas." Sam said, glancing at Rian who was still looking out the window, "We went out to grab some burgers."

"West Texas -That was over a week ago," Dean said with a frown

"That's it." Sam said, "Next thing I knew, I was sitting here Bloody. I felt like I had been asleep for a month."

"Okay, retrace your steps." Dean commanded, "Manager said you left yesterday afternoon and never saw you come back."

"Hey," Rian said suddenly, pointing at the window. She had been staring blankly out the window but when her vision focused she saw the spots of blood on the windowsill. She stood quickly and moved to it, "I think Sam came in this way."

Rian opened the window and quickly climbed out when she was sure there was no one nearby. She glanced back at the brothers who were sharing a look. Rian rolled her eyes.

"We're retracing Sam's steps, yeah?" Rian asked before gesturing for the brothers to follow her out the window.

"Recognize anything?" Dean asked after they had made it a block from the motel. They were in a neighborhood that seemed to specialize in both personal and warehouse storage.

"Not really," Sam said dejectedly, looking around, he stopped in front of a storage container, eyeing it carefully, "Wait."

"What?" Dean asked coming up to Rian

"I think I was here," Sam explained, looking up and down the row of units.

"You remember?" Dean asked, exchanging a look with Rian that told her he's still peeved with her for forgetting pretty much everything.

"Not really." Sam said, examining a unit carefully "It just feels familiar, you know?" He pointed to the unit next to them, "Try that one."

"Yeah." Dean said skeptically, pulling out his lockpick it, "Okay."

"Wait," Sam ordered, fishing something out of his pocket. He pulled out a key and handed it to Dean who tried it on the lock, finding himself hoping that the key wouldn't work.

Inside the storage unit sat an old blue convertible bug. Rian examined it closely noting the blood stains on the handle and the careless way the car was parked. She knew something was fishy; Sam took much better care to hide the evidence than what had been taken here. It was like someone wanted them to find the evidence.

"Please tell me you didn't steal this," Dean pleaded from where he had been examining the car, glancing up at the younger Winchester,

"More blood." Sam pointed out in lieu of answering.

"Sam, backseat," Dean said, pointing to something on the floor.

Rian moved to get a better look when Sam pulled out a bloody knife. She examined the blade with growing trepidation, not liking how this is looking at all. The longer they looked around, the surer she became that they were being led on a wild goose chase. She growled to herself, moving outside of the storage unit, not liking the fact that she didn't know what was going on

"You think I used this on someone?" Sam asked Dean, watching Rian leave the unit with growing concern for the girl.

"I'm not thinking anything," Dean said moving to search the rest of the car with Sam's help. "Okay, now, this is disturbing." He pulled out a pack of cigarettes from behind the passenger seat. "Come on, man." Dean said, trying to sound upbeat and failing horribly, "This couldn't have been you. It could have been someone else -Somebody who, uh, smokes menthols."

"Hey, a gas receipts, a few towns over." Sam said after rolling his eyes at his brothers strange optimism.

Dean grabbed a paper from the glove box and held it up for the other two to look at, "Alright, receipts for ten gallons at pump number two" He said before leaving the storage container, intent on getting to the Impala.

* * *

"You getting any goose bumps yet?" Dean asked when they pull into the small gas station two towns over from where they had found Sam. "God, this looks familiar,"djavu vibes?" Sam shook his head "Maybe someone inside will remember you. Come on."

"I'll wait out here," Rian told the brothers as they exited the car, not wanting to get in the way. Sam and Dean nodded at her before going into the store, Sam glancing back at Rian in concern.

"You -Out of here." The man behind the counter ordered as soon as Sam walked in, he picked up the phone, "Now. I'm calling the cops."

"You talking to him?" Dean asked, glancing between the clerk and Sam.

"Yeah, I'm talking to him." The man growled, reaching for the store phone, "Jerk comes in yesterday, stinking drunk, grabs a 40 from the fridge, starts chugging it."

"This guy?" Dean asked, smacking Sam on the chest before questioning his brother, "You're drinking malt liquor?"

"Not after he whipped the bottle at my friggin' head." The guy said still glaring at Sam

"This guy?" Dean asked again, obviously irking the clerk

"What, am I speaking Urdu?" The man wondered impatiently

"I'm really sorry if I did anything," Sam started to apologize only to be interrupted by the guy

"Tell your story walking, pal, okay?" He said, done with Sam's shit, "Popo will be here in five."

"Wait," Dean pleaded urgently, throwing up a hand, "He's leaving. Put the phone down. Sam, go wait in the car."

"But, Dean-" Sam began to argue

"Go wait in the car!" Dean demanded, and Sam exited the store.

Inside the Impala Rian was sprawled on the back seat with her arms covering her face. Sam glanced at her before looking out at Dean. With a sigh, he turned in the front seat so that he could address Rian better.

"Hey," Sam said, startling the young woman, "What's wrong?"

"I can't remember anything," Rian told Sam after a moment, removing her arms from her face and looking at Sam from her spot on the seat, "I don't know what's going on and this is the first time this has happened and I feel useless. I-I don't know how to hunt, the only reason Dean tolerates me is because I know things and now that I don't-"

"Fin, calm down." Sam said gently, reaching over the back of the seat and laying a hand on her flannel-clad shoulder, "We'll figure out what's going on with the both of us and we'll get it fixed, you're not useless."

"What if we can't?" Rian whispered, sitting up slowly once Sam had removed his hand, "What if we can't fix this and I'm just here, and useless, and getting in the way?"

"Fin, you're not useless." Sam tried to placate her, not liking that the woman saw herself that way. Not when she had saved both him and Dean countless times.

"I am Sam," Rian argued, trying not to cry, she hated how weak she felt, "I don't know how to hunt, I'm shit at research, I'm out of shape, I cry when I get a splinter. I'm useless Sam. The only thing I was good for was my extensive knowledge of the future, and now I don't even have that."

"Rian," Sam said harshly, causing Rian to look at him sheepishly, "Calm down. We'll teach you how to hunt, as much as we don't like you getting more involved. You're right; you need to be able to protect yourself." Rian nodded slowly, having not expected this from Sam, "And you are not shit at research. I know you research all the cases anyways despite having knowledge of them."

"Okay, I don't agree with you but okay," Rian said, finally smiling a little at the younger Winchester. "Thanks, Sam."

Dean opened the driver door then not giving Sam the chance to respond. He tossed a snickers bar to Rian and a twix Sam. Rian smiled at Dean, not really surprised that the hunter had remembered her favorite candy bar.

"The smoking, throwing bottles at people-" Dean said to Sam when he started the Impala, "That sounds more like me than you."

"Yeah, I know," Sam says, settling into his seat, missing how Rian glanced back and forth between the two in confusion, "What did he say?"

"You went north, heading out of town." Dean said as he too turned north, "Keep an eye out for anything familiar."

A few miles later Sam sat up in a rush, demanding: "Dean, wait. Wait. Here. Turn down that road."

"What?" Dean said, making a sharp turn that threw Rian tight against her seatbelt with a grunt. Dean gave her an apologetic smile which she returned with a grimace as she pulled the belt away from her body to prevent it from doing any further damage.

"I don't know how I know." Sam said, his voice tight, "I just do."

"Whoever lives here, I'd say they don't like surprises," Dean offered once they pulled up to a large house with an extensive security system. "Should we knock?"

"Yeah, I guess." Sam said eyeing the house warily moving to check out the rest of the house

Rian watched from the car, not wanting to get in the way. They had promised to get her when they were sure the house was clear. Sam and Dean surveyed the house, each cautious of what they might find.

"Hey, Dean," Sam called, pointing out a broken window to his older brother.

"I'm surprised the cops didn't show -place like this you'd think would have an alarm." Dean said as he inspected the window, noting it was broken from the outside.

"Yeah, you would." Sam agreed, opening a panel on the side of the house that revealed the cables for the security system, cables that had been cut.

With a sigh the boys entered the house. They found it a mess with things broken everywhere and lots of glass on the floor. Dean entered the first room on the right and stopped for a moment to take in what he saw.

In a pool of blood was the body of a many, probably in his mid-fifties. His throat had been cut by what was probably a kitchen knife. Dean frowned at the scene, a feeling of trepidation causing him to shiver slightly.

"Hit the lights," Dean demanded as he moved to the body to get a closer look.

His wound was worse than Dean had initially seen, the man has a cut all the way around his throat, and there was dried blood in his hair and on the throw beneath him. Dean pulled back and covered his mouth, noting the stench the guy had left. Sam looked around the room, anything he could do not to look at the body he knew he had put there.

"Dean, I did this," Sam said, voicing what was going through the minds of both men

"We don't know that," Dean argued back, not liking where this was going.

"What else do you need?" Sam yelled, "How else do you explain the car, the knife, the blood?"

"I don't know, man." Dean told Sam, "Why don't you tell me? Even if you did do this, I'm sure you had a reason -you know, self-defense, he was a bad son of a bitch -Something." Dean pushed himself up from the man, "He doesn't have any I. D."

"I need your lock pick," Sam demanded, eyeing the cabinet that he had been standing in front of.

"What?" Dean asked, turning to look at Sam

"I need your lock pick." Sam repeated and this time Dean handed it to him.

As Sam began to pick the lock, the brothers heard a small gasp from the doorway of the room, and they turned to see Rian there, holding her hand over her mouth. Her tanned skin was pale, and she looked like she was about to throw up or pass out.

"Fin, you okay, there?" Dean asked, standing up and walking over to her, making sure to keep himself between the body and Rian.

"Yeah," Rian managed to get out, looking up at Dean, making sure she didn't let her eyes wander from the man's face as Sam finished his work on the lock, "I mean, I had no problem on all the other hunts why is it affecting me so bad?"

"I don't know Fin; you should wait in the car while we figure this out, okay?" Dean said, pulling Rian in for a quick hug, surprising the girl who buried her face into Dean's shoulder, "we'll figure all this crap out and then we'll go back to antagonizing each other, alright?"

"Okay," Rian said before pulling out of the hug and turning to make her way back out to the Impala, being extra careful not to step on anything.

Once she was in the back of the Impala, Rian wrapped her arms around her middle and laid down in the back with a shudder. If she was completely honest right now, she was freaking out. Rian knew she could handle bodies. She had helped Dean and Sam dig up graves on a few small hunts; she had been to the morgue with them. She had seen things a lot more gruesome than that dead body inside.

With a groan, Rian rolled over so that she was staring at the back of the Impala's front seat. She couldn't help but think back to the Croatoan case. She had been a mess then, so sure of what needed to be done and not mindful of what others were going through. She'd been a bitch and hadn't cared.

It had scared her. Rian had felt out of control, but at the same time, she felt like she was in control of everyone and she had loved it. It just wasn't her style, though. Rian was perfectly content to let others take the lead, which she was proving right now with her inability to do anything.

Rian let out a sigh when Dean and Sam came back to the Impala. Sam glanced at her worriedly, and she shook her head, letting the Winchester know that she didn't want to talk. The brothers got into the Impala, and Dean started driving before anyone spoke.

"What now?" Rian asked, proud of herself for keeping the fear she was feeling out of her voice.

"To the motel, I guess, we got everything we could here," Dean said simply and the conversation died until they make it back.

* * *

"All right, we get a couple hours' sleep, and then we put this place in our rearview mirror," Dean ordered when everyone was in the room that he had got for them, Sam didn't reply so Dean walked over to him, "I know this is bad, okay? You gotta snap out of it." there was no response from the younger Winchester, "Sam, say something."

"Just get some sleep and leave in the morning?" Sam said after a moment, glaring at Dean, "Murder, Dean -That's what I did."

"Yeah, well, maybe it was a shifter," Dean suggested as Rian made her way into the bathroom to take a much-needed shower.

"Oh, come on. You know it wasn't." Sam argued, watching Rian enter the other room with concern, "You saw the tape. There was no eye flare, no distortion."

"But it wasn't you, alright?" Dean said, getting frustrated, not bothering to pay attention to Rian. His primary concern right now was Sam, "Yeah, it might have been you, but it wasn't you."

"Well, I think it was," Sam said adamantly, much to Dean's surprise, "I think maybe more than you know."

"What the hell does that mean?" Dean asked as the shower in the bathroom shut off. They're quiet for a moment as faint humming comes through the thin door,

"For the last few weeks, I've been having I've been having these feelings," Sam said, lowering his voice so that Rian couldn't hear him.

"What feelings?" Dean asked raising an eyebrow at his brother.

"Rage Hate." Sam told Dean, not looking at him, "And I can't stop it. It just gets worse. Day by day, it gets worse."

"You never told me this." Dean accused, his eyes narrowing at his younger brother.

"I didn't want to scare you," Sam said quietly

"Well, bang-up job on that." Dean scoffed, flopping down on the bed

"Dean, the yellow-Eyed demon -You know he has plans for me." Sam said, "And we both know that he's turned other children into killers before, too."

"No one can control you but you," Dean said, his voice hard.

"It sure doesn't seem like that, Dean." Sam murmured, "it feels like no matter what I do, slowly but surely, I'm just becoming."

"What?" Dean demanded when Sam trailed off.

"Who I'm meant to be," Sam finished with a shrug, "you said it once yourself, Dean. I got to face up to who I am."

"I didn't mean this!" Dean argued

"But it's still true. You know that. Dad knew that, too. Hell, even Fin knows that." Sam told him, "That's why Dad told you if it ever came to this-"

"Shut up, Sam." Dean interrupted harshly.

"Dean, you promised him." Sam pleaded, "You promised me."

"No," Dean said, neither brother noticed that the humming had stopped awhile ago."Listen to me. We're gonna figure this out, okay? I mean, there's got to be a way, right?"

"Yeah, there is." Sam said, picking a gun out of the duffel Dean brought in and handing it to Dean "I don't want to hurt anyone else. I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt Rian."

"You won't." Dean said slowly, "Whatever this is, you can fight it."

"No, I can't not forever." Sam said after a moment his voice quiet, tears in his eyes, "Here, you gotta do it."

Rian opened the door to the walked straight over to Sam, cupping his cheeks with her hands, forcing him to look at her. Her long hair was still wet and started dripping onto the younger Winchester, but he hardly noticed as he looked at the young woman. She forced him to turn his whole body away from Dean and gently took the gun from his hands.

"Listen here, Sam. You did not murder him. I don't give a damn what you think; that wasn't you. Sure it may have been your body, but it was not you." Sam started to protest, and Rian shook her head at him, "No Sam. We'll figure this out, but I know it wasn't you, okay? Now, get some sleep so we can figure out what the fuck is going on here."

"Fin" Sam protested weakly, but she shook her head at him again, moving one of her hands to cover his mouth.

"No, Sam. Until we figure out what is happening do not do anything stupid. Do not put your brother in that position again. Do you understand how much it would kill him to do that to you?" Rian took a deep breath, trying not to let the tears gathering in her eyes fall, "you have to understand that he can't do it. He cannot kill you. He won't and even if he could physically do it I wouldn't let him."

"Fin," Sam said harsher this time before roughly pushing her away.

Rian stared at Sam, hurt in her eyes and her face twisted in pain from hitting the dresser too hard. Dean spun to face Sam but he already had the gun in his hand. Without waiting for Dean to register anything Sam knocked him over the head. He walked over to Rian and did the same thing, leaving the two unconscious in the room.

* * *

A knock on the door woke Rian and she looked around the room to see Dean slowly waking up too. She groaned, reaching up to feel the lump on her head and hissed at the sting it caused. She lowered her hand and heaved a sigh at the caked blood that stuck to her fingers. Dean helped Rian up and they made their way to the door, opening it to reveal the managers.

"It's past check out time." The manager says coldly, "And another couple needs your room."

Dean and Rian share a look before shrugging; Dean grabbed his bag, and they leave, ignoring the manager who grumbled as he followed them. Dean paid for the extra day after Rian glared at him. Dean cursed when they don't find the Impala and turned back to the manager.

"I need to use your computer," Dean demanded much to the other man's displeasure

"Why would I let you use my computer?" The manager, a crusty looking man, asked.

Dean just sighed and pulled out his wallet, handing the man some cash. With a smirk, the man lead them to his office. He stood near the door while Rian and Dean walk over to the computer. Rian looked around the office as Dean gets to work on locating Sam.

"Hi." Dean said when the support for the phone company picked up, " Uh, so sorry to bother you, but, uh, my son snuck out of the house last night and, Uh, went to a Justin Timberlake concert." pause, "What? Yeah. Justin is quite the triple threat." Dean glanced at Rian who was just staring at the ground.

"Uh, anyway, he's not back yet, and I'm starting to worry. Right, yeah, boys will be boys. But, see, Sammy has diabetes, and if he doesn't get his insulin, then I just -I have to find him. Please, I'm begging you." Rian shifted just a little bit, "No, no, no, I'm on the website right now. I just need to activate the GPS on his cellphone. Yeah, right there. Duluth, Minnesota. Yeah, that is a long way to go for a concert. I appreciate your help."

Dean hung up the phone and exited out of the windows on the computer before thanking the manager and walking out with Rian right behind him. They walked for a few blocks when Dean finally stopped to hotwire a car.

"So, you still don't remember anything?" Dean asked after they've been driving for awhile, "because it might be nice to know what's going on."

"I still don't remember anything," Rian confirmed, her voice small.

Dean looked over at her and let out a curse, noticing how pale the young woman was. She was shaking, and he could see tears forming. He pulled over and turned to Rian, placing a hand on her knee.

"Hey, Fin, what's wrong?" Dean asked, watching her carefully as her breaths sped up slightly.

"I don't know, Dean," Rian turned to him with wide eyes, "I don't know what's going on. Ever since the Croatoan case I've felt anxious like there was something wrong. And now I can't remember anything, and I feel useless. I'm a dead-weight when I don't know anything Dean. I'll probably get in the way." She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself and get her breathing back to normal, but she just began to hyperventilate even more.

Dean let out a soft breath and shifted in his seat so that he could pull Rian into his side, wrapping an arm around her and tucking her head into his shoulder, allowing the girl to cry on him. Rian grabbed his coat as she sobbed into the hunter.

"Just let it out, Fin." Dean murmured, rubbing her back, "I'll take you to Bobby's so that you can get some rest, okay?"

Rian nodded into his shoulder and Dean continued to rub her back. After a few minutes, the sobbing subsided, and Rian sat up, wiping her face.

"Thanks, Dean." She said shyly, not making eye contact with him, "I know you don't like chick flick moments."

Dean just grunted and pulled back onto the road while Rian moved over to lean against the window. She put her seatbelt on and shortly fell asleep as they made the drive to Bobby's.

* * *

Rian slept the whole trip to Bobby's and woke up feeling a lot better than she had before. After a quick goodbye with Dean, she found herself standing in front of the old hunter's front door. Rian knocked and patiently waited for Bobby to answer, rubbing the tattoo on her arm.

"Hey, kiddo, what's up?" Bobby asked upon answering the door. He was holding a shotgun, but he lowered it as soon as he saw who it was.

"I'm a mess, and Dean needs to concentrate on finding Sam so we decided that the best place for me right now would be here," Rian told him as Bobby let her into the house. She wasn't really surprised that Dean hadn't called the older hunter before dropping her off.

"Want anything to eat?" Bobby asked, and Rian looked at him slightly shocked, "What? I just made steak."

"That would be nice," Rian agreed with a smile, "I don't think I've had anything since before we found Sam."

After they finished eating Bobby forced Rian to shower before they sit down in the dining-room-turned-study. Both of them were reading lore books and pretty much ignoring the rest of the world.

"What exactly is going on?" Bobby asked after they had been reading for a few hours.

Rian slowly raised her head to look at Bobby, "I don't remember anything that's supposed to happen." Rian told him, "After the last case it's like a switch was flipped and I don't remember a damn thing. It was about the same time that Sam disappeared, so I think it has something to do with that."

"Well, I guess we'll figure it out when we get Sam figured out," Bobby said turning back to his book.

"Yeah," Rian said, also turning back to her book.

After a few more hours Rian decided to go to bed. She said goodnight to Bobby and slowly made her way up the stairs. To the spare room that Bobby had cleaned for Rian as a project one weekend.

The room was white and large. There was a desk with a chair behind it. The chair behind the desk was occupied, so Rian sat on the metal chair that was on the other side of the desk. The person spun around to face Rian, and she rolled her eyes when she saw that it was Zachariah, the angel douchelord.

"I thought you guys weren't going to be interfering until Dean gets his ass thrown into hell," Rian quipped, trying to cover how nervous she felt.

"You've created a particular case." Zachariah said, "One that we're trying to take care of."

"So you guys are the reason I can't remember anything?" Rian asked, "Why do I remember you douchebags?"

"No. But we do know who is interfering. It will be dealt with soon." Zachariah told her, ignoring the insult like he always did.

"Who is it?" Rian asked when Zachariah didn't continue, "who the fuck messed with my head."

"You get feisty when you're scared," The Angel observed, and Rian just scowled at him, "Fine, alright, we're not sure how she did it, but the demon Meg is the one who messed with your memories."

"Is there any way to protect me from further… interference?" Rian asked nervously, watching the angel closely.

"It would be very… painful." Zachariah said after a moment of weighing his options. He wanted to keep Rian as an asset for the future but at the same time what she knew could potentially ruin the plan.

"Do it," Rian said without hesitation, "I'm assuming you want my help. That means you're gonna need to earn my trust. This is a good first step. Do it."

Zachariah nodded. He leaned forward and touched two fingers to her forehead. There was an intense pain and then all Rian knew was the darkness.

* * *

Rian woke up with a start and ran from the room, barely making it to the bathroom. After she was finished puking out her guts her intense migraine subsided and she was able to focus on what she could now remember. She searched for her phone before running downstairs to get Bobby so she only had to tell her newly remembered information once.

When she and Bobby were settled in the study Rian quickly dialed Dean's number, putting the other hunter on speaker phone and waiting impatiently for him to pick up.

"Sam's going to be at Bobby's." She told him quickly in lieu of greeting, "You need to get here now. He's possessed by Meg."

Rian hung up after a few more details were shared and quickly searched her room for the sawed-off Bobby had gifted her and the holy water she kept in a flask. Once she found them she slowly made her way downstairs, avoiding the third step from the bottom because she knew it creaked. She was making it a habit so she wouldn't forget it in the future.

Bobby already had everything set up by the time Rian was back downstairs. She gave the man a hug in gratitude and then sat down to wait. Bobby had offered her a beer but she declined. She felt clear headed for the first time in weeks and she wanted to keep it that way.

When Dean showed up, Rian told him her plan and got further input before holing herself up in the kitchen while Dean went up the stairs, just out of sight of the living room. They figured that Meg would be much less worried if she saw Rian rather than Dean. When they figured she wouldn't be coming for awhile, Dean and Rian settled down for some go-fish.

A few hours later when Sam knocked on the door, Rian quickly retreated to the kitchen. She did not feel the need to be near Meg, especially not after what had been done with her memories. She listened to Dean settle on the steps before nodding to Bobby who then went to get the door.

"Sam," Bobby greeted pulling the man into a hug and hiding his look of disgust.

"Hey, Bobby," Sam said, hugging the man back "It's been a while."

"Come on in," Bobby said, leading Sam into the house, "So, what brings you?"

"Working a job nearby, and I thought I'd stop in and say hey," Sam said as he looked around the room

"Where's Dean?" Bobby asked, walking into the kitchen where Rian was waiting with a flask of holy water for the beers.

"Holed up somewhere with a girl and a 12-Pack," Sam said with a smirk in his voice

"Oh, yeah?" Bobby called as he poured the holy water into the beer intended for Sam, "Is she pretty?"

"You ask me; he's in way over his head," Sam said, his eyes quickly turning black before turning back as Bobby looked over at the man.

"Well, it's good to see you," Bobby informed, handing Sam a bottle. He lifted his bottle in the air, "To John."

"To dad," Sam toasted his father. He took a long drink of the beer and suddenly smoke started to come out of his mouth and he was on the floor, hissing in pain

"What'd you do?" The demon inside Sam growled

"Little holy water in the beer, it was Rian's idea," Bobby told the Demon, "Sam never would have noticed. But then, you're not Sam, are you? Don't try to con a con man." Bobby pulled back his arm and punched Sam, effectively knocking both Sam and the demon out.

Rian and Dean moved from their spots to help Bobby move Sam's hulking form to the living room and tie him to a chair. She stretched when they're done and gives the men a smile.

"How'd you get your memories back?" Bobby asked, not for the first time.

"It's a secret. I can tell you in a few years… if you remember." She said cheerfully, wrapping an arm around Bobby's shoulders

"Well, it's good to see you back in good spirits," Dean said from where he was nursing a beer of his own. They had decided to take a break before continuing with their interrogation. Rian wanted to make sure that Sam's body wasn't harmed in the process so she had convinced Dean to give himself a few minutes to calm down.

"Alright, we've had our breather, would you do the honor, Dean?" Rian looked at the Winchester expectantly and watched him walk over and slap Sam.

"Ugh!" The demon, Meg, groaned before noticing the three people in front of her, "Dean. Back from the dead. Getting to be a regular thing for you, isn't it? Like a cockroach."

"How about I smack that smart-Ass Right out of your mouth?" Dean growled

"Careful now." Meg teased, "Wouldn't want to bruise this fine packaging"

"Oh, don't worry." Dean said as Rian handed him the bucket of holy water, "This isn't gonna hurt Sam much. You, on the other hand," He tossed the contents on Sam, "Feel like talking now?" He asks as Sam begins to grunt in pain.

"Sam's still my meat puppet." Meg informed them redundantly, "I'll make him bite off his tongue."

"No, you won't be in him long enough." Dean said before turning to the older hunter, "Bobby."

Bobby started the exorcism. Rian stood back and watched carefully. She may haven't gotten her memories back but she couldn't remember exactly how Meg had been able to posses Sam in the first place. Rian rubbed her fingers absently over the raised tattoo that had appeared on her hand when she first came to the Supernatural Universe.

"Whatever bitch-boy master plan you demons are cooking up, you're not getting Sam, you understand me?" Dean said glowering at the demon, "Cause I'm gonna kill everyone of you first."

"You really think that's what this is about - the master plan?" Meg asked with a smirk "I don't give a rat's ass about the master plan."

Bobby stopped the exorcism when he noticed that it wasn't working, he looked back at Rian who was watching Meg closely. She glanced down at her tattoo and back at Meg before an idea began to form. With a smirk Rian walked over to the fireplace and grabbed a poker, she was glad that they had positioned Sam's body so that Meg wouldn't be able to see her stick the poker into the flames

"Oops. Doesn't seem to be working," Meg teased before breaking the binds, "See, I learned a few new tricks."

"This isn't going like I pictured," Bobby said redundantly as he backed away from Med

"What's going on, Bobby?" Dean asked while he kept himself from panicking.

Rian silently watched Sam and Dean from her place by the fire. She wasn't going to move until she was sure that the poker was hot enough. If she messed it up, they would lose their chance to save Sam.

"I can't believe I forgot about that," Rian muttered under her breath while she watched Sam carefully.

"Now I'm Sam." Meg said as she stalked towards Dean, "By the way I saw your dad there. He says "howdy". All that I had to hold on to was that I would Climb out one day and that I was gonna torture you, Nice and slow, like pulling the wings off an insect." Meg stepped from the devil's trap and started punching Dean, "But whatever I do to you, it's nothing compared to what you do to yourself, is it? I can see it in your eyes, Dean. You're worthless. You couldn't save your dad, and deep down, you know that You can't save your brother. They'd have been better off without you."

Rian nodded at Bobby when she moved by Meg and Bobby jumped to grab Sam, holding him still as Rian held the poker to his arm, burning off the mark. She ignored the smell of burning flesh while she tried to keep up with Sam's movements. Rian breathed in relief when she watched Meg smoke out of Sam's body.

Everyone sat in silence breathing hard for a few minutes before Rian dropped the poker and ran over to Sam, checking him over. She saw Bobby move to Dean and help the man stand.

"Sammy?" Rian asked when Sam's eyes opened. She held a hand to the man's chest, not letting him get up just yet.

"Did I miss anything?" Sam asked with a frown, looking at the people around him, "By the way, you really look like crap, Dean."

"Yeah, right back at you." Dean replied with a smirk; he turned to Bobby who was watching the two of them silently, "What is it, Bobby?"

"You boys ever hear of a hunter Named Steve Wandell?" Bobby asked suddenly, piecing some things together. He picked up the poker that Rian had dropped and moved it back to the cement hearth before it could burn his house down

"Why do you ask?" Dean asked glancing at Bobby before grabbing the first aid kit so that he could patch up Sam's burn.

"I heard from a friend, Wandell's dead - Murdered in his own house." Bobby explained, "You wouldn't know anything about that?"

Rian shook her head at the man before going upstairs and grabbing the charms that she and Bobby had made. She handed them to the hunter when she got back down and then moved into the kitchen to grab beers for the men and a root beer for herself.

"Take these," Bobby said, handing the charms to the boys,

"What are they?" Dean asked even as he took the two charms and gave one to Sam.

"Charms," Rian answered for Bobby, giving the boys their beers, "They'll fend off possession. Though I've been trying to tell Bobby that the anti-possession tattoo will work a lot better."

"That demon's still out there." Bobby said with an eye roll, "This will stop it from getting back up in you."

"That sounds vaguely dirty, but, uh, thanks," Dean said standing up and going to the kitchen to get an icepack.

"You're welcome," Bobby called after Dean before walking to his study.

"Ouch," Sam winced as Rian rubbed an ointment on the burn after deciding not to wrap it.

"You're such a baby," Rian teased with an eye roll.

"You seem a lot better now." Sam observed, "did you get your memories back?"

"Yeah," Rian said with a small smile, "and I still want to learn how to hunt, Sam."

"Okay, Fin," Sam said standing up now that his burn was taken care of and helping Rian stand too.

"We should probably head out," Dean called from the kitchen.

"You okay to come with us?" Sam asked, watching Rian carefully.

"Hell yeah," Rian said with a grin. She found that she felt like the last two weeks hadn't even happened.

"You boys be careful, now," Bobby said when everyone was ready to go, "Watch out for Rian and make sure nothing happens to her."

Rian rolled her eyes and gave Bobby a quick hug before following the boys out to the Impala. She carried one more duffel bag than usual, having filled it up with more books courtesy of Bobby.

After about an hour of the drive, the silence in the car was broken by Dean, who turned down REO Speedwagon's Back on the Road Again.

"You okay?" Dean asked glancing at his brother who was staring out the window and didn't hear Dean, "Sam? Is that you in there?"

"I was awake for some of it, Dean." Sam said, not looking at his brother, "I watched myself kill Wandell with my own two hands. I saw the light go out in his eyes."

"It must have been awful," Dean said sympathetically

"That's not my point. I almost carved up jota. I could have killed Fin," Sam said, "But no matter what I did, you wouldn't shoot."

"It was the right move, Sam." Rian said from her spot in the back, "It wasn't you. And anyways, I won't let anyone shoot you, Sammy; I'd be lost without my moose."

"Yeah, this time." Sam scoffed, ignoring the warm feeling he got from Rian's promise, "What about next time?"

"Sam, when Dad told me that I might have to kill you, It was only if I couldn't save you." Dean said with a frown, "now, if it's the last thing I do, I'm gonna save you."

The trio fell into silence after which was broken when Dean laughed suddenly

"What?" Sam and Rian asked at the same time sharing a look

"Nothing," Dean said, still smirking like a little kid.

"Dean, what?" Sam asked again, wanting to understand the joke.

"Dude, you, like, full-on had a girl inside you for, like, a whole week." Dean said, turning to look at Sam, watching his reaction "That's pretty naughty."

Rian sighed and leaned forward to smack Dean on the back of the head.

"Hey," Dean said in protest, glaring at Rian through the rearview mirror

"Eyes on the road, Squirrel," Rian smirked before turning to look out the window.

* * *

 _A/N:_ _I am seriously grateful to everyone who has followed, favorited, or reviewed this story. You people keep me writing. Please keep doing that for me so I can keep the motivation to keep writing there. I have so much going on right now that sometimes its hard to keep up with this._


	15. Prank Wars and a Sweet Tooth

_**Last Week**_

"Really, Dean?" Sam asked, watching as Dean tied Rian's shoelaces together while the young woman took a nap on the couch of the motel room they were currently staying in. They had finished a hunt the night before and Rian had ended up patching up both of the brothers and hadn't slept much.

"This is karma," Dean said, leaning back away from Rian once he was satisfied with his work. "And I don't see you trying to stop me."

"Nuh-uh, no way am I getting in the middle of this." Sam said, moving to sit on one of the beds, "You two can have your fun."

"You're missing out," Dean said with a shrug before standing up with a grunt, "I need a beer." He groaned moving to the fridge. He didn't make it far before he felt something attached to his leg. He looked down to see the top of Rian's head as she prevented him from getting to the fridge

"Nice try, buddy." Rian grinned, having kicked her shoes off, "You better be ready"

Dean let out a frustrated groan. He'd been trying to get Rian back for turning up the volume in the Impala on him while he'd been napping in the back. It hadn't been easy in the least. Rian was extremely cautious and Dean was having to resort to childish methods; hence the shoelaces.

Rian released Dean before jumping up and running into the bathroom to brush the taste of her lunch out of her mouth. She brushed her hair before leaving the room only to step into a pile of what could only be shaving cream.

Rian grimaced at the mess before shrugging and rubbing it all over her feet. When she decided they were sufficiently covered Rian ran over and jumped onto Dean's bed, wiping the mess onto the man's sheets.

"Hey!" Dean shouted from where he was leaning against the kitchen counter. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Rian jumped from the bed and ran over to hide behind Sam who shook his head at the two before going back to his research. After checking the chair next to Sam for any traps Rian sat beside the man and pulled out her own laptop, wanting to help the brothers with the next hunt.

The two brothers had started to train Rian in hunting after Sam had healed from his possession. Sam was teaching Rian how to research more efficiently and taking her on morning runs while Dean was teaching her how to use a gun and other such weapons. Both brothers were surprised to find that Rian was already decent at hand to hand combat. Something Dean learned when Rian flipped him to the ground after a particularly mean comment during training.

 _ **Three days ago**_

"RIAN!" Dean yelled, marching into the motel room with a glare on his face, "What the hell did you do to my car?"

"What are you talking about?" Rian asked, looking up from her laptop, "I literally haven't moved since you left. What happened?"

"Someone slashed my tires," Dean growled, throwing a money clip down on the table in front of Rian.

"Dean…" Rian said, picking up the money clip before pulling out a nearly identical one from her pocket, "That's not mine." The money clip that Dean had was significantly fuller than Rian's and happened to have the initials _S.W._ engraved on them. "I would never mess with Baby."

"Friggin Sam," Dean said with a huff, throwing himself onto the couch. He shot up immediately and walked over to Rian, "I'm hungry, let's go get some food."

Rian shook her head at the man, "you're planning on spending Sam's money, aren't you."

"Abso-friggin-lutely," Dean grumbled before pulling Rian out of the room. Determined to get some of his payback started.

"You do know that Sam has been at the library all day, right?" Rian asked the older Winchester when they were in the lobby, "when would he have the time to slash your tires and why would he do that? Baby's as much his home as she is yours."

Dean nearly faltered at that but there was too much evidence against Sam at the scene of the crime.

 _ **Two days ago**_

"Dean!" Sam yelled from the table at his brother who was currently occupying the bathroom and had been for the last twenty minutes.

"Yeah" Was the faint reply from the other room. Rian grimaced at the thought of the smell that would be hanging in the air for the next few hours.

"What the hell did you do to my laptop?" Sam yelled again, causing Rian to roll her eyes.

She had tried multiple times to convince the brothers to give it up. Rian may have started the prank war but she was going to put an end to it, before one of the brothers got seriously injured

"What are you talking about?" Dean asked, walking over to the table to look over Sam's shoulder. Rian rushed to shut the door that Dean had left open, not wanting the smell to exit the other room.

"My laptop is frozen onto busty Asian beauties and it definitely wasn't Rian," Sam said, a slight pink tint to his cheeks as he avoided looking at Rian.

"How do you know that?" Dean asked, smirking at Sam.

"It wasn't me, definitely not my taste. I prefer my beauties to be tall with long flowing locks," Rian said with a smirk of her own and a wink at Sam before pushing away from the table and walking over to brave the bathroom leaving Dean guffawing behind her.

 _ **One Day Ago**_

"That's it," Rian said, glaring at the brothers who had just been arguing back and forth all day, "Since you guys won't fucking listen to me I'm just gonna call Bobby. Can I trust you guys to not kill each other while I step out to do so?"

"I'll call him," Dean said, grabbing his phone and wallet and walking out of the room.

"Alright then," Rian said with a shrug, letting the Winchester go. Whatever it took to get some peace and quiet in the motel. She wanted to read up more on Tricksters, even though she knew that the trickster they were dealing with was actually an angel she was curious about actual tricksters. "Finally, some quiet in here."

Sam glanced over at Rian from where he was reading with a sheepish smile. He liked how much closer the three of them had gotten since he had come back. Rian was a lot more open with her complaints of the brothers, which was saying something.

"Sorry, Fin," Sam apologized and the girl grinned back at him.

"S'okay, Sammy, if I really had a problem I'd probably just kick both your asses," Rian shrugged before turning back to her laptop.

"Yeah, whatever you say, Finley," Sam teased and Rian huffed at him.

"As it should be, Samantha," Rian grinned at the look of distaste Sam sent at her.

 _ **Currently**_

Rian sat on Dean's bed, reading over the reports from the deaths of the strange cases they had been investigating. Along with physical training in the past few weeks the brothers had also been teaching Rian more on how to spot the difference between a screwed up human case and something Supernaturally related.

"Dude, you mind not eating those on my bed?" Sam grumbled at Dean from where he was sitting at the table in the motel room doing research the old fashioned way: with books.

"No, I don't mind." Dean said shoving more food into his mouth making Rian laugh at their childish antics, "How's the research going?"

"You know how it's going?" Sam asked, "Slow. You know how it would go a heck of a lot faster? If I had my computer."

Dean just shrugged and went back to eating his food. He had tried convincing Sam that he hadn't touched his computer but the moose-man wasn't believing him.

"Can you turn that down, please?" Sam asked, rubbing his forehead.

"Yeah, absolutely," Dean said reaching over and turning the volume on the radio up

"You know what?" Sam asked, turning to face Dean as Rian rolled her eyes "Maybe you should just go somewhere for a while, huh?"

"Hey, I'd love to." Dean said, standing up from the bed, "Unfortunately, my car's all screwed to hell."

"I told you, I have nothing to do-" Sam started before Rian interrupted them by standing and walking over to the door that someone had just knocked on.

"Hey, Bobby," Rian said, relieved that the man was finally there. She opened the door to reveal the hunter, "Could you please knock some sense into these boys. They won't stop arguing and they won't listen to me. Which I know is normal but it's been going on for days."

"Hey, boys," Bobby said after assuring Rian that he'd try his best. Rian nodded and went to clear the food off of Sam's bed and sit on it. She glared at Dean who wasn't moving and the man got up to go greet Bobby.

"Hey, Bobby," Sam greeted before glaring at Dean who was already glaring at his giant of a brother.

"It's good to see you again so soon," Bobby said sarcastically moving further into the room

"Yeah, uh, thanks for coming," Sam said uncomfortably, sitting at the small table

"So, um, what didn't you want to talk to me on the phone about?" Bobby asked, watching the boys make themselves comfortable.

"It's this job we're working," Sam told him, still glancing at Dean "We weren't sure you'd believe us."

"Well, I can believe a lot," Bobby assured looking at Rian who just shrugged at the old hunter. She was not going to get involved with this.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Sam told him, "It's just we've never seen anything like it. Not even close. We thought we could use some fresh eyes."

"And they won't listen to me so I suggested you come in. Although, it would be a lot easier to just listen to the one that knows frickin' everything." Rian said from the bed where she had a lore book open on her lap. One on Norse mythology that she had .

"Yeah, well, you let Sammy mess with my car," Dean accused, glaring over at Rian who stuck her tongue out at the man.

"And you let Dean take my laptop," Sam complained, not noticing the glare that Bobby was sending his way.

"You're two grown ass men, I do not need to baby sit you guys," Rian said, almost growling at the hunters, "And anyways, no one did anything. You two are just too stupid to see it."

"Why don't you begin at the beginning?" Bobby said with a frown, sending a concerned look towards Rian.

"Yeah," Sam agreed and then he began to tell Bobby about the start of the hunt, which was the professor jumping out of the building.

While he did that Rian continued to read up on Norse mythology. Of course, she knew it wasn't actually the trickster causing this mess but it didn't hurt to learn. But if Gabriel wanted to stay hidden then who was Rian to stop him. When Supernatural had just been a television show for her Gabriel had been one of her favorite characters.

She understood what it was like to not want family members to fight, and to be caught in the middle when they did. Even without the family issues though, the trickster antagonizing the Winchesters had just been fun to watch. Especially the alternate universe episode where he had trapped them in the t.v. shows. Though now she felt that it was hitting too close to home.

Rian shook her head of those thoughts. As much as she wanted to get home she had run into no clues and thinking about it would just put her in the dumps. Instead Rian put down her book and tuned back into the conversation

"I don't know, but she was a classy chick," Dean said causing Rian to roll her eyes, already regretting paying attention again.

She instead curled up into a ball on the bed and closed her eyes to take a nap, not wanting to listen to the boys anymore. She already knew everything that happened, and her input really wouldn't make that much of a difference.

Her mind was filled with the events of the case as she fell asleep, a professor jumping out a window, a college frat boy being abducted by aliens, and a research professor being eaten by a sewer alligator, a sewgator. Boring stuff really.

* * *

" _Sweet cheeks, you can open your eyes you know." A voice called impatiently, startling Rian awake._

 _She looked around the room, not recognizing where she was. There were several posters of naked ladies, two chairs, a couch, a flat screen T.V. and copious amounts of sweet foods. She was vaguely familiar with the setup but she couldn't remember why._

" _Hey," Rian said conversationally when she spotted Gabriel next to one of the tables of sweets, "How's it going."_

" _You don't seem surprised to see me," The archangel turned trickster noticed, quirking an eyebrow._

" _I've been looking for you, actually," Rian said with a smirk, acting more confident than she felt, "I knew you'd fall into my lap eventually, Gabe."_

 _At that, the trickster stiffened. Suddenly the room around them was gone and Rian found herself face to face with the archangel. She blinked in shock but otherwise tried not to react to him. She couldn't help the tremble, though._

" _How do you know that name?" Gabriel demanded causing Rian to shrink back a little._

" _Personal space," She squeaked out and Gabriel moved back reluctantly, seeming to understand that she wouldn't speak unless he gave her room._

" _I'm from another universe." Rian confessed and Gabriel tilted his head in slight confusion, "I was actually hoping you could help me with that but it looks like I'm out of luck here."_

" _Help you with what?" Gabriel asked taking a step closer to the girl, only for her to move back._

" _Getting back, going home, whatever." Rian sighed "I mean, I don't really belong here, I'm bound to screw something up eventually."_

" _Ah," Gabriel said, noticing the_ otherness _of the girl now. "I may be able to help with that, but you'd have to wait awhile."_

" _How long is awhile?" Rian asked with hope in her eyes._

 _Gabriel just shrugged, "I'm not sure yet. I'll get back to you on that."_

 _Rian deflated a little, the light in her eyes diminishing and Gabriel felt a little bad for the girl. He placed a hand on her shoulder and noticds how she flinched away from it. He quickly removed the hand and sighed when he saw her visibly relax._

" _I'll see what I can do," Gabriel said after a moment and suddenly Rian was surrounded by darkness, finally getting to experience that nap that she wanted._

* * *

"Hey, Kid." A voice called, startling Rian awake, "Wanna go help us hunt a trickster?"

Rian looked up to Bobby leaning over her and let out a scream that had the man grimacing. She apologized with a blush before registering what he had asked her and sitting up with a grimace. The pounding in her head called for pain medicine so she took some of that before addressing the men in the room.

"Janitor?" She asked the boys and they nodded at her glare meekly, "Yeah, cause y'know, I didn't say that yesterday or anything."

They said nothing so Rian sighed and threw on her jacket, grabbing her bag and sticking the stake that one of the boys had made for her into the largest pocket. She knew it would be useless but she still had to play along. She couldn't give away that it was Gabriel since she really did not want to get on the archangels bad side. Being on his good side was bad enough.

"You know if you guys just listened to me Bobby wouldn't have even needed to show up," Rian announced as the four of them piled into the Impala. "Despite what the two of you think I actually do want to help."

"Yeah well," Dean muttered before completely ignoring Rian who rolled her eyes.

She turned to Sam who was sitting next to her with a frown and he just shrugged. Rian rolled her eyes at him to and turned to look out the window.

She had been doing a lot better since the block had been put in her mind and her memories had been restored. They had been on a few smaller hunts to help get both her and Sam back into it and up to par. She had also realized that a few hunts she had written about earlier had been skipped and was wondering what that meant for the timeline that she knew. She really hoped they hadn't skipped anything necessary and only fillers.

At the school, Sam and Dean went in to talk the janitor, aka Gabriel, while Bobby and Rian took a look around outside. They talked a bit about the last few weeks of nearly nonstop hunting and Rian told Bobby some stuff about her family, the things that were easier to tell at least.

Soon enough both Sam and Dean were storming away from each other and Bobby went after Dean while Rian made her way to Sam. She gave him a small smile and the two of them made their way to the diner that the four had planned to meet at.

Rian was apparently not as adept at hiding her worry as she seemed to think she was. About halfway to the diner, Sam stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow and sighed at the look he gave her.

"What, Sam?" She snapped, harsher than she intended to, "shit sorry, just trying to get my thoughts in line. What's up?"

"Are you okay," Sam asked, "you've seemed a little pensive lately."

Rian shrugged, not really sure what she should and should not give away in this instance. On one hand the boys had no reason to think that anything was off, on the other hand if something was off now this could mean drastic, apocalyptic, changes in the future.

"I've just been thinking about home a lot recently," Rian decided on keeping the other information to herself, just in case, "I think losing my memories shook me up more than I thought it did."

Sam nodded, "you know Dean and I are here if you ever want to talk about it."

"Thanks, Sammy," Rian said with a small smile, letting the conversation die.

* * *

"Okay, so, Rian," Dean said turning to Rian once everyone had their food, "What can you tell us about this trickster guy?"

"Well, he'll be a thorn in your side, that's for sure," Rian said before taking a bite of her salad, "but you'll take care of him."

"Good, that's good," Dean said before the four of them fall silent.

"How'd you get your memories back, anyways?" Bobby asked and Rian cursed him silently before sighing as she set down her fork. She had managed to avoid talking about that since it happened but now she was trapped, both figuratively and literally, by their expectant stares.

"I think Meg was the reason I couldn't remember anything and with her gone, I guess it just wore off," Rian said, upset with herself for lying to them but they couldn't know about the angels. It was much too soon and it would cause too many problems.

Rian saw Sam looking at her with a raised and she smiled at him with a shrug before going back to her food. The men shared a look of disbelief but Rian chose to ignore them. She had had pear salad only once before in her life but it was still just as good as she remembered it.

"Now that you have your memories back are you gonna write another journal?" Bobby asked after a few moments and Rian shook her head. The man really did not give up.

"That's too dangerous. If it gets into the wrong hands then that'll put you three, and the world, in danger." Rian told them, making eye contact with the three of them, "I'm not risking you guys just so we can have a few hints to the future."

"Thanks," Sam said gently after a few moments of silence before glancing at Dean.

"Anything for you, Sam. I mean it, anything," Rian assured just as softly, before clearing her throat and shaking her head to rid herself of the mood she was suddenly in.

"Well then," Dean said, clearing his throat, and glancing between Sam and Rian who were sitting across from him and Bobby "part two?"

"Part two," Rian agreed with a grin as they all stood. Sam threw some cash down on the table and Rian ate the last pear on her plate.

Dean and Bobby exited through the front while Rian and Sam snuck out the back. She knew that they didn't have to be that stealthy but it was honestly kind of fun.

Sam and Rian made their way to the building where they would confront the Trickster. Sam rested against the wall while Rian felt too wired up to do anything but pace in front of him.

"You okay?" Sam asked, watching as Rian paced in front of him in the area they are waiting in.

"I've been better, I've been worse." Rian said simply, still pacing, "More excited than anything."

"Excited to meet a trickster?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow at the girl.

"Not just _a_ Trickster, this is _The_ Trickster," Rian enthused, her eyes showing an excitement that Sam hadn't seen from the girl as long as he had known her.

Sam shook his head in wonder at the girl before sliding down the wall he had been leaning against so that he was now sitting on the ground. Reaching out he grabbed Rian's arm and pulled her down next to him. Rian yelped but still sat next to him, although her legs were now shaking in front of her.

"I understand you're excited but you need to calm down." Sam ordered, throwing his arm over Rian's shoulders, "You're a ball of energy and you need to be a line… or something."

"Yes, sir," Rian said sarcastically even as she leaned into the man, "How long until we go in again?"

Sam grinned and Rian couldn't help the answering smile on her face, "patience you must ha my young padawan."

"Nerd," Was Rian's reply though she couldn't help her smile turning into a grin.

* * *

"Sam was right," The two of them heard as they approached the door to the auditorium, "You shouldn't have come alone."

They paused outside on of the doors, Rian gripping her stake and nodding at the two men. Bobby was at one of the side doors but they could still see him. Bobby returned the nod and Sam pushed the door.

"Well, I'll agree with you there," Sam called as he let both him and Rian in as Bobby used the other door to enter.

"That fight you guys had outside - That was a trick?" The Trickster said in what Rian could tell was mock disbelief. She couldn't help her small smile but did her best to hide it from everyone else in the room.

"Hmm. Not bad. But you want to see a real trick?" the trickster snapped and Dean suddenly had to fight off the two girls that had been on the auditorium stage with him. Rian heard the sound of chainsaws and watched as two men each went after Bobby and Sam. She was left alone for some reason and could only watch as Dean was thrown off stage.

"Ohh! Aah! Ohh! Ohh! Ha!" Gabriel called at each punch that connected with Dean, "nice toss, ladies!"

Rian ran over to help Dean up but soon found herself face to face with one of the women who simply winked at her before throwing her into one of the chairs. She landed with a huff and soon found herself being tied to the chair.

"Dean Dean, Dean, Dean." The trickster admonished while walking over to the older Winchester who was now sprawled among the auditorium seats near Rian, "I did not want to have to do this."

"Me neither," Dean said before suddenly stabbing his stake into the Trickster. Even though Rian knew it wouldn't really kill Gabriel she couldn't help but wince at the pain it would cause him.

When the trickster stopped moving and eventually disappeared the room was reverted back to its original state and Rian's ropes had disappeared. She looked around to see the men in various states of being. Bobby and Sam were out of breath and Dean was holding his side from one of the punches that had been thrown.

"You guys okay?" Bobby asked, walking over to the other three to check on them

"Yeah," Sam said, taking slower breaths to help calm his racing heart. He'd had too many close calls for comfort.

"I guess" Dean grunted his agreement.

"A-Okay, boss," Rian grinned with a mock salute before wincing at the blood that came off her hand and got wiped on her face, she hadn't even noticed she was injured, the cut on her wristing surprising her, "Well, not quite as okay as I thought" Rian grumbled, cradling her scratched wrist in her other hand.

The four of them made their way out of the building after they had been patched up. Rian couldn't help but smile when she pulled a piece of candy out of her pants pocket. She unwrapped it and popped the fun-sized kit kat into her mouth.

"All I got to say he had style," Dean joked only to be smacked by Rian with her good hand.

"Bobby, thanks a lot," Sam said, turning away from the childish antics of Rian and Dean.

"Hey, save it! Let's just get the hell out of dodge Before somebody finds that body." Bobby said, uncomfortable with the praise and the three younger adults agree with a nod, a salute, and a grunt.

"Yeah Look, Dean, um I just want to say that I'm, uh," Sam stuttered with all the eloquence of a three-year-old after pulling Dean to a stop just outside of the doors.

"Um Hey." Dean interrupted, not comfortable with the impending chick-flick moment, "Me too."

"You guys are breaking my heart," Bobby said sarcastically before throwing open the door to the impala so that he could get a ride back to the motel.

"Could we please just leave?" Rian pleaded before also getting in the Impala. She couldn't help the frown at how uncomfortable the two were with talking about how they felt. She knew that it was going to cause a lot of problems for all of them in the future.

* * *

 _A/N: It is almost finals week and I am not sure how I am still alive. I have three essays due next week but I got a review asking me if I was ever going to update and I can't directly reply to a guest so I wanted to let that guest know that yes, I am going to update. But only because you asked if I was going to. So thank you for that. Otherwise you might have had to wait until I was done with this quarter._


	16. What We Really Want

"Three-thousand miles out of the way," Dean groaned when they rolled into Bobby's driveway, "You made us drive three-thousand miles out of the way for a book? We saw Bobby two weeks ago, why couldn't you get it then?"

"I didn't need it then, Dean. I told you that, there's no need to be melodramatic" Rian reminded the older Winchester, stopping just before opening the door, "I need it now and you can shut up about it, alright?"

"Fine," Dean conceded as Rian finally jumped out of the Impala and ran into the house.

"Hi Bobby," Rian called before running down into the basement where Bobby had said the book would probably be. Rian spent a few minutes searching for the book and ended up grabbing three others that could prove useful before glancing around the room. There was something missing but Rian couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Rian?" A voice floated down the stairs to her, breaking her out of her thoughts, "You've been down here for ten minutes and Dean's getting annoying."

"You should be able to handle Dean for ten minutes, Sam," Rian said, coming up the stairs, deciding to ignore the feeling that she got, "he's your brother."

"Yeah, well, he's also annoying," Sam said before taking half the books from Rian and helping her carry them out to the Impala.

"Bye Bobby!" Rian called to the older hunter before closing the door behind her.

Once they were back in the Impala Sam handed Rian the books that he had carried out. She put the books beside her before leaning forward and resting her chin on the space between Sam and Dean.

"What now?" She asked, a lot more cheerful than she'd felt in months if she was being honest.

Recently Gabriel had given her a list of books that may have some answers on how Rian could possibly, maybe, hopefully, get back to her own world. Luckily for her, Bobby had a few of the books that she needed and Gabe was working on getting her the rest.

"Now you tell us why you suddenly needed these books," Dean demanded, starting to drive away from Bobby's while the brothers waited for her answer.

"Well…" Rian started before sighing, having decided that it was probably smarter for her to tell the truth, "I've been doing some research and I need these books to continue it."

"Research for what?" Sam asked, looking over at Rian.

"uh…" Rian said, not sure how the brothers would feel about it.

"Spit it out," Dean demanded and Rian sighed.

"How to go home," Rian said before continuing quickly, "I mean, I don't really belong here and I'm just wanting to make sure there's absolutely no way to get back before I give up completely"

"Oh," Dean said and if Rian didn't know any better she would have thought there was a hint of disappointment in his voice.

"I'm not saying that I will go back it's just… I want to make sure there are no options to do so before I give up like I just said." She reiterated, willing them to understand, "I figured it was the smartest thing to do."

"Yeah," Sam said with a sigh of his own, "let me know if I can help."

"Thanks, Sam, but its reading. The one thing that I can do properly." Rian said, trying not to be disappointed by his reaction

Sam nodded and they sat in silence for a few hours while Rian read through one of the books.

"You know," She said, startling the brother's out of their thoughts, "In the parallel universe or whatever the fuck, alternate universe maybe? Anyways, people often dreamed of what would happen if they were thrown into the Supernatural Universe. Hell, I did it a couple times, but it's nothing like I expected."

"What did you expect?" Sam asked while Dean remained silent, keeping his attention on the road.

"I don't know, I mean the demons and shit, yeah I expected that. But I didn't expect to be so… important? I guess, like being noticed by the bigwigs." Rian explained "Like…"

"Like what?" Dean asked his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Like people I didn't think would notice me, Dean," Rian said with a sigh. She let them fall into silence for a few minutes before asking: "You guys sure you're okay taking this case on your own?"

"Well, since you made us drive all the way to Bobby's to get these books you may as well read them." Dean grumbled and Rian couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah whatever," Rian said, "you know you love me asshat."

Two days, and on stop for sleep, later they pulled up to a motel in Oakhurst, a small town in Oklahoma. Rian only had a few books left to go through and she wanted to spend her time doing so. She was trying not to get her hopes up but she couldn't help it.

"Call if anything happens, don't leave the room, don't let anyone but us-"

Rian rolled her eyes before interrupting Dean, "Dean. I'm a grown woman. I know how to take care of myself. I'm doing research tonight and that's it."

"Alright," Dean agreed with a nod before heading over to the Impala. Rian felt a little guilty but the man needed to give her some room to breathe on her own.

"You know," Sam started after a moment of silence between the two, "Dean being overprotective is his way of saying he cares."

"I know, Samsquatch," Rian said, laughing when Sam winced at the nickname, "But I also need a little break. It's been nonstop hunts lately and I finally have something that may or may not work and I need to figure it out."

"Yeah," Sam agreed standing there awkwardly for a moment before pulling Rian into a hug, "Good luck."

"Thanks, Samsquatch," Rian said when Sam released her, "You better go before Dean gets an aneurysm."

"Yeah, see ya," Sam nodded at Rian before walking out of the motel and closing the door behind him.

* * *

Sometime after the Winchester's had left Rian was relaxing on one of the beds, halfway through the last book that she had grabbed from Bobby's. She had not found anything that seemed promising for her own situation but she had been taking notes on some different rituals and spells that looked like they could potentially come in handy.

After a face splitting yawn Rian decided to take a break, she was going bleary eyed and had read the same paragraph three times in a row. A quick look in the mini-fridge had Rian searching for a take-out menu. Without too many options Rian decided to play it safe and called in her order to Sugar Pine Gourmet Pizza.

After placing her order Rian jumped into the shower to wash off the grime of the road and wake herself up a bit. When she was out she put on a comfortable pair of sweats and a long sleeve shirt that was now too large for her. Rian lifted the shirt to look at her body in the mirror with a grimace. She may have lost weight and gained muscle in the time that she had been in this universe but there were flaps of skin on her stomach and scars and bruises from recent hunts where she had been injured.

She was happy that she was healthier, though. She had more energy to do things, she didn't feel like shit when she binged on popcorn when they got the chance to sit down and watch a movie. She felt refreshed when she woke up rather than even more tired. It was a new thing for her and she relished in the feelings.

When she first showed up in the Supernatural Universe she had been naive, innocent in way too many aspects. She had thought she was dreaming and then when she figured out she wasn't she had thought it was a game. It wasn't until she killed Pete that she realized that her actions in this world had consequences.

When she'd started to travel with the Winchester's she had seen them as t.v. show characters and not real people with real problems. Now they were her family and even though she was looking up information on how to get back home she wasn't sure if she wanted to leave them.

Dean was her overprotective older brother. They butt heads a lot but Rian would do anything for him. And she knew that he would help her no matter what. Unless Sam's life was also on the line. She did not begrudge him for that, seeing as she would also choose Sam's life over her own.

And then there was the moose himself. Rian wasn't sure what was going on between her and Sammy but the feelings she had for the younger Winchester were not the feelings one had towards a brother. Rian was okay with Sam not knowing that, though she knew what happened to the women that got close to Sam and she did not want to add her name to that list, she did not want to put Sam or Dean through that.

A knock on the door brought Rian out of her thoughts with a shake of her head she stood to answer the door. She grabbed the gun from the side table and stuck it in the waistband of her sweats before pulling the door open.

She was too distracted by her lingering thoughts to notice that the man at the door was not holding a pizza. Instead, he was lunging towards her and sticking a needle in her arm. She struggled as much as she could but her mind quickly grew fuzzy. The last thought she had was that of a body full of tattoos and glowing eyes.

* * *

"Fin, hey," Someone was shaking Rian awake and all she could do was groan and roll over, shoving the person's hand away from her.

"Five more minutes," She pleaded, keeping her eyes closed tight. Her entire body was sore and she was much too comfortable to leave the bed.

"Come on," Rian now recognized the voice as that of Sam Winchester. She groaned and opened her eyes only to be met by a face full of hair as he leaned down to lift her off the bed. "We told Dean we'd watch Cindy today."

"Cindy?" Rian grumbled sleepily, leaning her head on Sam's shoulder.

"Yeah, our niece," Sam said, an eyebrow raised and his eyes showing concern for Rian, "You okay?"

"Uh," Rian groaned, drawing it out a little, "Yeah, I just had a strange dream, you'd never believe it."

"Try me," Sam grinned before pressing a kiss to Rian's forehead and setting her back on the bed now that she was awake. He kissed her again on the mouth before walking out the door.

"How can I if you just leave," Rian challenged with a grin, lifting her hand to her mouth in wonder. She was obviously dreaming, Sam and Dean were on a hunt and she was in the motel room in Oakhurst, California. The pizza she'd ordered had probably been bad. That was it. There was no way that Dean had a kid or that she and Sam were on kissing terms.

"I'm going to get Kyle ready for the day," Sam said with a grin, popping his head back into the room, "I'll be back before you're done with your shower."

"Kyle?" Rian asked trying to figure out what the hell Sam was on about

"Yeah, our son Kyle. You know, the child you and I had together after we got married?" Sam told her, coming back to the room to place his hand on Rian's forehead, "Are you sure you're okay, babe?"

"Yeah, sorry," Rian said slowly, shaking her head, "I think that dream got to me more than I thought."

"As long as you're sure," Sam insisted before placing a chaste kiss on Rian's forehead, "go take that shower, I'm sure you'll feel better afterward."

Rian sat on the bed for a few moments before shaking her head and deciding to get ready for the day. After her shower, she dressed in a pair of well-worn jeans, a button-down shirt, and worn converse. She brushed her hair and threw it into a low ponytail before brushing her teeth. It was only when she was about to leave the room that she realized her hair was different. It was no long the shoulder length curly hair with one side shaved that she had grown so fond of after John had died.

When she finally felt ready for the day Rian left the bathroom to find Sam sitting on the edge of the bed with a toddler in his arms. She smiled fondly at the picture that they presented and went over to pick up the young boy and kiss him on the cheek. She noticed Sam who was watching them with a look of love and devotion that nearly made Rian throw up.

"Fin, are you sure you're okay?" Sam asked standing up and feeling Rian's forehead again, to which she just smiled at the man. "If you're not we don't have to watch Cindy."

"Samsquatch, we already told Dean we would, right?" Sam nodded his agreement, "Then we're not backing out. I promise I'm fine."

"As long as you're sure," Sam repeated his earlier statement, kissing Rian on the forehead, "now, how 'bout some French toast with fresh strawberries for breakfast?"

"A man after my own heart," Rian joked, balancing Kyle on her hip so that she could pretend to swoon. Meanwhile, she was trying to get over the feeling of how wrong everything was. She had the perfect man for a husband, a healthy toddler for a son, and a family that loved her.

"Rian, babe, we've been married for three years, I already have your heart," Sam said, grabbing Rian's hand and dragging her out of the room. He gave Kyle a smooch on the cheek that made the little boy giggle and Rian's heart swell.

"That's what I want you to think," Rian joked with a wink to the Moose she was apparently married too.

"Whatever you say, Finley," Sam grinned, ruffling her hair. Rian glared at him as the doorbell rang. Sam kissed on the forehead again and went into the kitchen.

"Glad you know the rules of marriage, Sammy." Rian teased him, grinning at the man when he turned to glare at her.

"Can you get that, babe?" Sam asked redundantly as he pulled eggs out of the fridge.

"Already on it, hun," Rian called, smiling at how natural the endearment was.

On the other side of the door was Dean Winchester holding the hand of a five-year-old with a tired look on his face. Rian smiled and let the man inside, taking the bag for the five-year-old and placing it in the living room.

"Thanks so much for doing this, Fin." Dean said, giving Rian a side hug, "Amanda and I really need a break and this is the first time we've both had the day off in three months."

"I know Dean," Rian assured, returning the hug and letting Dean take Kyle for a moment as she squatted to greet her niece with a hug. "It's really not a problem."

"I feel like you're obligated to say that somehow," Dean said with a smirk when they walked into the kitchen, Kyle back in Rian's arms. The older Winchester snuck a strawberry into his mouth and narrowly missed getting a smack from Sam, "Heya Samster,"

"Hey Dean," Sam said before kneeling in front of Cindy, "Hello Cindy, wanna go play in the living room with Kyle?"

Cindy nodded and Rian took the two kids into the living room so that the Winchester Brothers could talk. She watched Cindy and Kyle play with a grin before her smile suddenly fell due to a blinding pain behind her eyes.

She was not supposed to be here. She was supposed to be holed up in a dingy motel in California waiting for the Winchester brothers to show up from a hunt that she'd opted out of. She wasn't supposed to be in a nice house, married to Sam, and with a kid.

"Rian?" Dean said, getting the young woman's attention only to see that she had tears in her eyes, "Hey, you okay? Did Sam do something, cause I'll kick his…" Dean glanced at the kids and quickly changed his wording, "I'll beat him up if he hurt you."

"No, it's just…" Rian paused to think about what she wanted to say, "Overwhelming sometimes, how happy Sam and Kyle make me. You and Cindy too, it's scary."

"I know that feeling," Dean agreed, sitting next to Rian on the couch, and pulling her into a hug, "I really will kick his ass if he hurts you."

"I'll kick it first," Rian said with a thankful grin before standing up and pulling Dean with her.

The two walked to the kitchen where Sam had put together three plates of French toast all with copious amounts of strawberries and whip cream. The three dug in and before long all the plates were cleaned and put on the drying rack.

"I'll see you two tomorrow morning, yeah?" Dean asked, his hand resting on the door handle. He had already said goodbye to Cindy and Kyle and the two kids were back to playing in the living room.

"Yup," Rian agreed with a grin waving as Dean left the house.

"Fin," Sam said from the entryway to the living room where Rian was now watching cartoons with the children, "Can you tell me about the dream now?"

"Only if I get coffee first." Rian agreed, pushing herself up from her spot on the couch with a groan.

"You sure?" Sam asked carefully, "You don't usually have it on the weekends."

"Yeah," Rian said slowly, "But I didn't sleep well last night."

"Alright," Sam said, shaking his head and making his way to the coffee pot while Rian sat on one of the barstools at the island in the middle of the kitchen.

After Rian had a bit of the coffee she told him about everything she had dreamed about. From coming from an alternate universe to meeting the Winchesters who were supposedly characters on a t.v. show, to meeting both an angel and the demon that was trying to kill the brothers.

"Yeah," Sam said slowly when she was done, "I can see why you were confused this morning."

"Yup," Rian agreed after setting down her mug, "It was so realistic that I woke up thinking this was a dream."

"This isn't a dream, Fin," Sam said, standing up and moving behind Rian to give her a shoulder massage. She leaned back into it with a grateful sigh, "You're here, and I'm here, and we have Kyle. It's not a dream."

"Thanks, Sam," Rian said, placing a hand on one of Sam's, "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You'd probably have a Ph.D. in Ancient Mythology," Sam grinned, kissing Rian's forehead. She was growing used to the comfort that she got from that.

"Nah," Rian shook her head, "I'd be working at McDonald's for sure."

"No, that would be me," Sam argued, placing another kiss on Rian's head.

Rian nodded along sagely, "true."

* * *

After dinner, the two kids watched Disney's Hercules in a blanket fort that the four of them had built that afternoon while Rian laid out on the couch reading Milton's Paradise Lost. Sam was in the office just down the hall doing research for a case study he was working on. She was content to just lay there until she remembered something from her dreams.

The man with the tattoos.

Rian put her book down and made her way to the office where Sam was working. She was happy to see that there was a laptop that was not in use sitting on the side table of a comfy looking red chair. She made herself comfortable and pulled the laptop onto her lap to start her own research on the man.

"Fin, what's up?" Sam asked popping up behind Rian, "Is this because of that dream you had?"

"Yeah, kinda," Rian agreed, not looking up, "It's just, the last thing I saw before waking up was a guy with a whole bunch of tattoos and I wanted to figure out what kind of creature he was."

"What makes you think he was a monster?" Sam asked and Rian finally looked up at him with a wry smile.

"Just a gut feeling, love" Rian assured him, reaching up to pull Sam down for a kiss, "I feel like if I figure this out then I'll be able to let the dream go."

Sam smiled and started to rub Rian's shoulders, she groaned at the feeling, "Do you want me to help?"

"If you're willing," Rian shrugged with a smile.

"Okay, describe him to me," Sam said, sitting down at the desk and waiting for Rian to describe the man she had seen.

Three hours later, with breaks to take care of the children, Sam and Rian were no closer to finding answers than they were when they started. Sam was in the bathroom and Rian was starting to get frustrated.

"Why can't I remember?" She asked no one. She sighed when Sam walked in with a concerned look.

"Hey, babe," Sam murmured, getting Rian's attention, before pulling her into a hug, careful not to dislodge the laptop, "It's almost one in the morning, why don't we get some sleep and if you still need to we can continue tomorrow."

"You're always full of good ideas," Rian agreed, standing up to stretch. "Let's hit the hay."

"You know that I love you, Rian?" Sam asked suddenly, wrapping his arms around Rian's waist, "I will do anything I possibly can to make sure that you and Kyle are happy and healthy."

"Love you, too, Samsquatch," Rian said and she means it. In the time, she'd been with the Winchesters, her Winchesters, Rian had managed to fall in love with Sam.

Not that it would ever work out, Rian was trying to find a way home. She couldn't stay with the Winchesters any longer than she absolutely had too. She was only a liability and their lives were going to get much harder and they didn't need to worry about her too.

Rian squealed when Sam picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, "Let's get you to bed," He said, giving her waist a squeeze.

"Y'know I can walk, right?" Rian asked between laughs.

"Yeah, but this is a lot more entertaining." Sam shrugged as they entered the bedroom.

He set Rian on the bed before jumping up next to her. They had both changed into more comfortable clothes after the kids had gone to bed and they were both exhausted.

"Night," Rian says, flopping on the bed and curling into a ball.

Sam sighed and adjusted Rian so that she was under the covers before joining her there. He pulled her to him and curled up around her protectively. Rian shifted in his grip until she was comfortable.

"G'night, Rian," She heard as she nodded off.

* * *

Sometime around four in the morning, Rian woke with a gasp. She tried to sit up only to find that someone has their arm around her waist. She looked over to see Sam and that was when she figured out how this was happening

Rian quietly slipped out from under Sam's arm and made her way to their office. She turned on the laptop and quickly typed in Djinn. She had remembered the name of the creature in the middle of the night and she couldn't wait for Sam to wake up to research it.

What she found had her in tears. The Djinn used a poison and took its victim's blood while they were passed out. But it also created hallucinations based on the person's dreams. Hallucinations about a happy time where the person is content.

Meaning this was a dream. Rian's life here with Sam and Kyle. Dean's life with Amanda and Cindy. It was all only a dream. And Rian only knew one way to wake up from the dream.

She had to die.

But she couldn't kill herself. She just couldn't bring herself to do that. She'd been close before and doing it now, even in a dream, would be too real.

However, if she didn't do it then she'd be stuck here and Dean and Sam, the real Dean and Sam, would have to bury her in reality. She did not want to put the brothers through that.

But she was happy here. She was truly happy, and she couldn't have this in real life.

Rian took a deep breath before making her decision. She ran to the kitchen and grabbed a knife. She was about to stab herself when the voice of a child, her child, cut through the silence of the kitchen.

"Mommy?" The voice was quiet but it sounded like thunder in Rian's ears.

"Go back to bed, love," Rian said, setting down the knife. Even if this was all a dream there was no way in hell Rian was going to stab herself in front of a kid. She lifted Kyle into her arms and made her way back to the toddler's room.

"Rian?" Sam's voice sounded through the house and she let out a frustrated sigh.

"I'm in Kyle's room, love," Rian called, sticking her head out the door, where she found Sam standing, "why don't you put Kyle back to bed and I'll be right up after grabbing some water."

Sam nodded and Rian handed Kyle to him before kissing Sam on the cheek. The man pulled her back for a real kiss and Rian had to bite her cheek to stop from crying.

"If you're happy here then why do you have to give it up?" Sam asked suddenly, surprising Rain.

She felt like he was staring right into her soul, but this also solidified her need to escape, to be with the real Sam Winchester.

"Because it's not real," Rian said, more to convince herself than him before she ran back into the kitchen.

There was a sharp pain when the knife pierced her stomach and then her world turned black.

* * *

"What are you gonna tell her?" Dean asked, looking over at Molly the woman who Dean had almost hit while investigating the ghost that was haunting that stretch of the highway.

They had found the woman, exactly as both Rian and the research they had done, said they would. She was in the middle of the road and they had nearly run her over. Sam and Dean then proceeded to try to get Molly to leave but when that hadn't worked they fought the farmer who had caused the woman's death.

"The truth," Sam shrugged, "That's what Rian said we needed to do."

"She's gonna take off running in the other direction," Dean told his brother, smirking at his mention of Rian, he had gotten over his initial distrust of the woman and could see that she had really grown on his younger brother.

"Some spirits hold on too tight. Can't let go. And Greeley? Each year he punishes somebody for his death chasing them. Torturing them." Sam was telling Molly, having convinced Dean that it was for the best, "And each year, that somebody is you."

"But I don't remember any of it," Molly argued, wrapping her arms around her stomach.

"Because you couldn't see the truth, Molly," Dean told her, his voice gruff.

"So that's why he won't let me off the highway," Molly said in realization, starting to understand what was happening, "Because I killed him. I killed us both." She glared at the brothers accusingly, "Why didn't you tell me when you first saw me? Why wait until now?"

"You wouldn't have believed us," Sam said gently, not wanting to scare the woman any more than they already had.

"And you needed me for bait," Molly accused with a scoff.

"Well, we needed you," Dean agreed

They walk up to the house that they had been standing outside of. The house belonged to David, Molly's husband who had survived the car crash that had killed both Molly and the farmer.

"David," Molly breathed, seeing her husband. She had tears in her eyes at the sight of the man. He looked happy and that made her happy.

"Molly, we brought you here so you could move on," Sam said gently, wanting to let the woman have this one last thing.

"I have to tell him," Molly said, tears running down her face.

"That you love him? That you're sorry? Molly, he already knows that." Sam argued. He shook his head, "Look, if you want to go in there, we're not gonna stop you."

"Yeah, but you are gonna freak him right out," Dean told the woman, "For life."

"David's already said his goodbyes, Molly," Sam assured, "Now it's your turn. This is your unfinished business."

"What am I supposed to do?" Molly asked them, wiping the tears from her face.

"Just Let go. Of David. Of everything." Sam said, "You do that We think you'll move on."

"But you don't know where" Molly affirmed

"No," Sam agreed, "Molly, you don't belong here. Haven't you suffered long enough? It's time. It's time to go."

Molly disappeared in a bright light and Dean and Sam couldn't help the smile that they shared.

"I guess she wasn't so bad," Dean said as they reach the Impala, "For a ghost."

"You think she's really going to a better place?" Sam wondered.

"I hope so. I guess we'll never know," Dean shrugged, "Not until we take the plunge ourselves, huh?"

"Doesn't really matter, Dean," Sam said, leaning against the car door, "Hope's kind of the whole point."

"All right, Haley Joel," Dean chuckled, "Let's hit the road. Get you back to Rian so you can stop worrying about her."

"Don't pretend like you aren't worried too, Dean," Sam grumbled, his face flushed even as he didn't deny it.

* * *

Around four in the morning, the brothers arrived to find the door to their motel room wide open. With a worried glance at each other, the brothers pulled out their guns and moved silently to the door. Dean motioned for Sam to take left while he took right. After counting down from three the brothers entered the room, swinging their guns around only to find no one in the room. Sam went to check the bathroom for Rian only to find it empty.

There was no sign of forced entry other than the door being open. No sign of struggle, the only things that were missing was Rian and the gun that they had left on the table for her to use. Her bag and books were still on the bed, just as she had left them.

The two shared a quick look before Sam gathered all their belongings and piled them into the Impala. Once the room was clear the two of them went to the front desk where Dean took lead in the conversation to talk to the manager.

They had both seen the video cameras and wanted to take a look at them to see what the hell had happened. The manager, an older gentleman who looked like he might be someone's grandfather, was also concerned when Dean told him the state they found their room.

"It must have happened right after the change in shift," he told them as he led the brothers to the security room, "The new night guard doesn't bother making rounds until three in the morning."

Dean just shook his head, hiding his worry from the old man, and pulled up a chair to find the right camera and time. Sam stood behind him, practically breathing down his neck and Dean couldn't help but glare at the man.

"Sorry," Sam apologized, backing off, "it's just. It's Rian, Dean."

Dean swallowed at the look of terror Sam gave him and turned back to the monitors, "I know man, we'll get her back, I swear it."

"Wait, Dean, go back," Sam said, pointing at the screen over Dean's shoulder, "there."

Dean hit pause and zoomed in on the screen. He looked back to Sam when he didn't understand exactly what he was looking at. They never saw the face of the man so there was no sure way to identify him.

"Those tattoos," Sam mused, trying to remember something, "Rian mentioned a monster that had tattoos."

Neither of them mentioned how Rian had been taken around ten at night. They didn't have time to confront the man for his obvious lies.

"What was it?" Dean asked, standing up to let Sam have control of the computer that sat next to the monitors. It was an ancient thing and took a while to load. Both men got antsier and more agitated the longer it took.

"A Djinn," Sam finally said when he found the page that he and Rian had looked at in one of her random 'let's research everything ever' binges. "I think- I think they usually keep their, um, vic- victims in warehouses."

"Let's go then," Dean said, nodding his thanks at the manager before leading Sam to the Impala.

* * *

11 hours had passed since Rian had been kidnapped and the only thought running through both brother's heads was that they were too late. They had driven straight to the warehouse district of the small town and were searching through the last block of the buildings.

"Rian," Sam breathed when he saw the woman hanging from the ceiling by handcuffs attached to her wrists, her feet were barely scraping the floor. He rushed over and grabbed the woman around the waist, lifting her up with one arm and picking the lock on the cuffs with the other.

While Sam took care of Rian Dean went to find the Djinn. They had stopped at a farm to get some lambs blood on the way to save Rian. The blade that Dean carried was drenched in the blood. In his other hand, he held another knife just in case.

Dean spun when he heard a creak behind him. He barely managed to nick the djinn in a reckless lunge, making the thing freeze. Dean dropped his center of gravity and lunged again, this time stabbing the monster in the stomach. He ignored the blood on his hands as he watched the son of bitch fall to the ground in satisfaction.

"Dean she's barely breathing," Sam called from where he was now cradling Rian to him. The lost look he gave Dean was like a punch to his gut.

"Let's get her to a hospital," Dean urged, the words spurring Sam into action. He stood and followed Dean out to the Impala, careful not to jostle Rian too much.

Dean sped to the hospital while Sam held Rian in his lap in the back. As they pulled up to the hospital the brothers shared a single thought.

Rian could not stay with them.


	17. Life at the Roadhouse

April 13, 2007

It had been almost three months since Rian had been dropped off with the Harvelle's. Sam had expected Rian to stay with Bobby but she had explained that the brothers were there often enough that she'd probably end up travelling with them again somehow.

And anyways, this way Rian had Ash nearby to help her with research and she could learn how to hunt from Ellen.

Because that was what Rian needed to do. She needed to learn how to protect herself so that she wasn't a burden to the brother's and could go on hunts with them without them having to worry about her.

"Kiddo, time to get up," Someone said as they shook Rian, who'd fallen asleep on the couch.

"Five more minutes," Rian grumbled, pushing the hand away.

"Rian," The voice was firmer this time and Rian can tell that it was Ash.

"Nuh-uh," Rian said, blinking sleepily at Ash, "You can do it yourself."

Ash just rolled his eyes at Rian, now used to her antics, and pulled the blanket she'd been using off her. She groaned but sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"Your shift starts in 30, kid," Ash reminded her, tossing Rian an apple, which she immediately bit into.

"Thanks, Ash," Rian said with a grin, holding up the apple.

Rian had found that she enjoyed working behind the bar at the roadhouse. Back in her old universe she wouldn't have been caught dead near alcohol but here It was a necessity. In the past three months, she'd cleaned up more piles of puke than she dared to count. She had also kicked out a few drunkards, which had been more fun than she thought it would be. The roadhouse regulars turned it into a game.

After brushing her hair back into a loose ponytail and throwing on a pair of jeans and a flannel Rian made her way to the main room. She went about doing some detail work on the cleaning, set out some peanuts, and then flipped the sign on the door to tell the world that the Roadhouse was open.

Of course, business was slow to start. There were only two people in the first three hours but Rian was expecting that, they opened at ten in the morning and the rush didn't start till four. Rian spent her time behind the bar researching different mythological beings and the best ways to kill them. She also read through articles on old cases given to her by Ash. She would figure out what happened and Ash would tell her if she was wrong or not.

She was also the go to, apparently, for figuring out ways to kill monsters. Or, at least the Winchester boys thought that. In the past three months, she had received numerous calls from both Dean and Sam asking for the best ways to gank one thing or another. It was only after complaining to Ash that Rian realized they were doing their best to help her out.

They would respect her wish to stay at the roadhouse but they didn't have to be happy with it.

"Hey there, Rian," A deep voice called, breaking her from her most recent article about a vampire killing in Springfield, Illinois back in 1986.

"Hey there, Jed," Rian smiled at the man before setting the article aside and giving him her full attention.

Jedediah was a regular at the roadhouse. He lived about fifteen miles down the road and when he wasn't working a case he liked to spend his time here swindling the wayward hunters out of their money at the pool table. "Your regular?"

"Sure thing, sweetheart," Jed grinned while Rian went to get his drink, "How long you working for today?"

"I'm on till three," Rian informed him, "Jo's off on a hunt, Ash is doing something or other in his room, and Ellen's taking over then."

"You think you can help me with a thing after?" Jed asked, taking his drink from Rian.

He was a good-looking man in his mid-forties, as far as Rian could tell. He had graying brown hair and a neatly shaved beard. There was a scar running down the side of his face that he swore was from a bear hunt but Rian's sure it was from a nasty ex of his. He was six feet tall and well-muscled. He looked a lot rougher than he was, Rian knew the man was a soft ol' teddy bear.

"What kind of thing?" Rian asked, adding the drink to the man's tab. Jed was there so often that Ellen had decided he could pay back his tab once a month.

"I guess you'll just have to wait and see," Jed winked at her, much to Rian's displeasure, and went over to the pool table to make some money from a gruff looking hunter who was in for the first time.

* * *

February 3, 2007

"You new here?" A deep voice called to Rian, making her jump. She spun around blushing, while the man chuckled. She had been working on stacking the beer in the mini fridge behind the bar in different formations to pass the time.

"You old here?" She retorted once she'd gotten her heartbeat under control.

The man chuckled and Rian couldn't help but relax. He had this way about him that seemed to do that to people, Rian would notice in the coming months. Right now, though, she was still a little jumpy from her time with the Winchester's.

"What's your name, sweetheart," The man asked, an easy smile brightening up his features.

"Rian," She told him, offering her hand for him to shake over the bar, "Yours?"

"Jed, Jedediah Mosley." Jed shook her offered hand, "What's a pretty lady like you doing in this place?"

"I know Ellen," Rian explained, with a shrug, "And I'm helping out Ash some with a bit of research. Do you go hunting, Jed?"

"I like me some bears and elk," Jed said with a knowing smile, "Got this here scratch from a bear hunt."

"Most people shoot the bear before it has the chance to scratch their face." Rian pointed out blandly, "What can I get for ya Jed."

"What are you good at, sweetheart?" Jed asked with a laugh, testing Rian's knowledge of alcoholic drinks.

From her time with the Winchesters Rian had learned a lot of different alcoholic drinks. Her favorite being the Dark and Stormy, which was Rum and Ginger Beer. That was the one that Jed had chosen, seeing as it was Rian's favorite.

He did not appreciate the burning feeling the ginger gave his lips, even if he did enjoy the drink.

His usual was a boot neck. Rian refused to try it, though he told her it was the best he'd ever had.

He and Rian spent the next few hours trading stories in between Rian serving the other customers. They were talking about a hunt Jed had been on with an old friend of his where they had fought off a possessed doll when Rian's phone rang.

"Sorry bout this," Rian apologized after pulling the phone out of her pocket, "Not many people call me. It must be important."

"No problem, Rian," Jed grinned and Rian stepped out into the hall just off the bar to take the call.

"Hello?" She answered after hitting the accept button.

 _"_ _Hey Rian, it's Jo."_

"Jo!" Rian said, pleased to hear from the girl, and a little worried, seeing as Jo and a friend of Ellen's, Greg, had left on a hunt just before Rian had shown up. "What's wrong?"

"I heard from mom you were working the bar and was wondering if Jed was there," Jo said with and Rian had to shake her head in wonder

"Yeah he is, are you okay, though?" Rian asked, looking out at Jed who was watching the football game on the TV.

"Yup," Jo said, though Rian could tell she was breathing heavily and trying not to panic. "Jed's the resident expert on Witches."

"Is he now?" Rian asked, Jed hadn't mentioned that. Although, Rian had only met the man a few hours ago. There wasn't enough time to share life stories.

"Yeah, d'ya think you can put him on the phone?" Jo asked.

"Sure thing, Jo," Rian agreed, "But hey, if you need help do not hesitate to ask. I am willing to kick every sorry ass out of this establishment to make sure you're safe."

"Thanks, Fin," Jo said, "Don't know what I did to earn such devotion but I'm glad I did it."

Rian just chuckled and walked over to Jed, "Apparently, Jo knew we met today. It's for you, something about Witches."

Rian handed her phone to Jed and walked behind the counter to serve a waiting customer. She was about to walk back to Jed when Ash walked into the roadhouse.

"Heya, Rian. Ellen needs ya to check on Jo. She hasn't heard from her in a while." Ash said and Rian just rolled her eyes.

"Am I just the middleman for Jo today?" Rian asked no one. "Sure, just let me get my phone back and I'll see what I can do."

"She's in Lexington on a case with Greg Dafford," Jed said, handing Rian her phone.

"Does she need help?" Rian asked, "Because Ash can cover for me."

"I can do no such thing," Ash said, Rian raised an eyebrow at him, "Okay, maybe I can."

"That's what I thought," Rian grinned triumphantly.

"You've hunted witches before?" Jed asked and Rian nodded.

"Yes sir," She said, "Did she say how many?"

"She thought it was two but she's not sure," Jed told Rian as she switched places with Ash. "I was planning to leave from here, since I still have my stuff in the car from the last hunt."

"Give me two ticks and I'll go with ya," Rian offered before running out of the room for her things. She had a bag ready for quick exits and a bag full of supplies. She grabbed both and was back in the main room in less than a minute. Both men were surprised.

"You ready, Jeddy?" Rian asked with a grin, taking a drink of the Dark and Stormy Ash had just made for Jed.

"Where's Ellen anyways?" Jed asked, leading Rian out to his car, a 1980s blue Ford pickup. "I didn't think she'd be one to let her only daughter hunt with someone other than her."

"She won't be after this," Rian said while she set her bags in the tarp covered trunk next to Jed's belongings. "One time thing cause Ellen has to deal with the clean up on a hunt in Blair and Greg needed help on his hunt. Said he would only accept it from Jo or Ellen."

"I see," Jed nodded with a contemplative look, "Let's get out of here then."

* * *

The drive to Lexington was short, thankfully. Rian soon found that Jed was a terrible road trip partner, as well as a terrible driver. She had feared for her life multiple times. And if Jed had taken her threats on what would happen if he didn't get them there safely seriously, he would have feared for his life too.

They stopped for dinner at a diner on the edge of the town. It was a small place with antiquated furniture but Rian found it to be charming. She loved that they had kept some character to the building.

She ordered a cheddar and broccoli quiche while Jed got a juicy double Swiss and mushroom burger. Rian cringed at the amount of grease that dripped onto Jed's plate.

After their meal, the two made their way to the motel that Greg and Jo were staying at, with Rian driving now. After checking into a room, Rian found out that Jed was 'strictly one hundred percent gay' when they were forced into a room with a single bed. Not that she'd have cared either way (he was much too old). They went to find Jo or Greg when their things were safely stowed in the closet.

Rian tried to call the older girl but it went straight to voicemail. Jed went to see what the front desk worker knew. Which, evidently, wasn't much, his shift had started this morning.

They spent thirty minutes knocking on doors and apologizing to disgruntled occupants to no avail. Both hunters were inclined to give up when they heard a car pull into the parking lot. Greg was driving and Jo was waving from the passenger seat.

"Hey, didn't think both of you were coming down," Jo said pleasantly, wrapping Rian into a hug.

"Your mother was worried, I'm mostly here for the research part." Rian said with a grin, returning the hug.

"I came for the booze," Jed said, shaking Greg's hand.

Greg was a short muscular man. Rian was a few inches taller them, for all her was a few inches wider. His tight shirt revealed that he was actually well muscled and not fat. Then again, he was a hunter, and apparently a good one to boot.

They relocated to Jo's room, where most of the research had been kept. Rian sat on one of the beds next to Jo while Greg and Jed both occupied one of the two chairs in the room. Rian had her laptop out and was taking notes while Greg and Jo told them about the case.

"So you think it's a witch?" Rian asked, looking up from her notes. "I mean, isn't this a little clichéd? Flying off on a broomstick, wrinkly old woman with a boil on her nose and claw-esque finger nails. This is every witch stereotype there is."

"The broomstick is a little weird." Jo admitted with a shrug "But what else could it be?"

The other three shrugged. Since the witch was their best bet that's what they went with. Rian started reading articles from past years while Jed went over the more recent articles that Greg and Jo had just gotten printed. Greg and Jo both pulled out their laptops to get more information from there.

They'd been reading for three hours when Rian's phone rang. The caller id read "Shaggy" and Rian sighed, it was her sixthteenth such call from the overgrown hunter since the brothers had dropped her off at the roadhouse.

"Heyo," Rian greeted once she was in the bathroom, trying to get a sense of privacy and let the others continue their research.

"Hey, Fin," Sam said, his voice sounding strained, "need your help with something."

"Yeah?" Rian said standing up straighter at the idea of helping, "What's up?"

"So Dean and I have reports of the tooth fairy stealing people's teeth in their sleep over in Kentucky," Sam started and Rian shook her head, this job was strange, "We've exhausted all our leads and were wondering if you had anything it could possibly be."

"What if it's actually the tooth fairy?" Rian asked, "Have you considered that? What if he's just gone off the deep end."

"Fin." Sam sighed, obviously exasperated. "Please."

"Give me a sec, I'll call you back." Rian said before hanging up.

"Hey guys, I gotta do some research for the 'Chesters." Rian apologized, "Can I borrow a car?"

"Here." Jed said, tossing Rian the keys to his pickup, "Don't dent her."

"You've done enough of that, as is." Rian quipped before grabbing her laptop and going to the truck.

Once she was at the library Rian found every book she could on the tooth fairy and went to a secluded corner to do her research.

Once she had all too much information on the tooth fairy from the five books she had found Rian had ruled out the possibility of it being the actual tooth fairy. She opened her laptop and looked up all the possible creatures it could be.

Some from urban lore, others from ancient lore. Finally, as the librarian called five minutes until closing, Rian had a possible hit.

She packed up and called Sam as she was walking out of the library.

"Hey, Moose," Rian greeted cheerfully.

"Please, please, please, tell me you have something." Sam pleaded, "Dean is driving me nuts."

"Isn't that like, his job or something?" Rian asked before getting down to business, "I think it's a tulpa."

"A Tulpa?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, its ancient lore, when enough people believe in something it comes to life." Rian explained, "Like Rise of the Guardians."

"Like what?" Sam asked.

"Oh yeah, not yet," Rian muttered to herself, she had been a tad bit upset when she remembered that some of her favorite movies had not been released yet.

"Nothing," Rian said, "Anyways, the two ways to kill a Tulpa are to destroy the belief, or to weaken the belief and then kill it. It's an actual creature now."

"So we have to tell kids the tooth fairy isn't real?" Sam asked. Rian nodded then realized Sam couldn't see her.

"Yup," She said cheerfully. "Good luck with that."

"Thanks, Fin," Sam grumbled before hanging up. Rian pocketed her phone with a laugh before leaving the library with a good night to the library.

Rian started the truck and made her way back to the motel, an idea forming in her head.

"What if it's not a witch." Rian said when she was back in the room with the others. They had ordered Chinese take-out and Jed handed Rian a container when she was settled.

"Then what is it?" Jo asked, crossing her arms, she just wanted this hunt to be over.

"What if it's a Tulpa?" Rian asked, "At the library I saw an exhibit on the Salem Witch Trials. If enough people think that witches are real, then it creates a Tulpa."

"That actually makes sense," Greg said with a grin.

"How do you kill a Tulpa?" Jo asked

"Destroy the belief then destroy the Tulpa," Rian said with a grin.

"How are we gonna do that?" Jed asked, chewing on a toothpick.

Rian shrugged, "Let me call Sam and see what they're doing about their Tulpa."

"They're hunting a tulpa too?" Jo asked, "Where?"

"Somewhere in Kentucky, I didn't ask for specifics," Rian said, pulling out her phone and calling Sam.

"What's up?" The gruff voice of Dean answered.

"Hey, how are you dealing with the Tulpa?" Rian asked, "Also, where in Kentucky are you?"

"Lexington," Was Dean's answer before Rian heard muffled voices.

"Wait, you're in Lexington?" Rian asked, starting to form a suspicion. She covered the receiver on the phone and turned to Jed, "Look up similar cases in all the Lexington's in the US, I think there are eighteen of them."

"Why the fuck do you know that?" Jo questioned but Rian was already focused on her conversation with Dean.

"Okay, so Sam thinks we should just go after the Tulpa." Dean told her, "Why do you care where we are anyways?"

"We're in Lexington, Nebraska and we're also hunting a Tulpa." Rian explained, "Jed's doing research to see if there's a connection."

"Who's Jed and why are you on a hunt?" Dean asked. She could hear Sam grumble something but couldn't make out the words.

"Jed's a regular at the Roadhouse and a recent friend of mine." Rian explained, "And I'm here to help Jo and Greg because Ellen asked me to. I'm not a child, you know, I can make my own decisions."

"I know, I know" Dean placated, "Sam and I worry about you, though. It's been strange with you gone."

"It's been five days, Dean," Rian reminded the hunter, "You'll be used to it soon, I promise."

"Whatever you say, Fin," Dean said with a sigh.

"Hey, what's the connection between the tooth fairy cases?" Jed asked and Rian relayed the question to Dean, who handed the phone to Sam.

Rian put the phone on speaker and let Sam know. Sam did the same for him and Dean

"It's all people who apparently joined the Lexington United Club…" Sam started then, "Oh."

"Yeah." Jed agreed, "There are branches of it in every Lexington in the US. If we can shut those down, we can get rid of the tulpa's."

"Let's do this then," Rian said, setting up her laptop.

Jed and Sam spent the next two hours hacking into the club database and erasing it from existence. Rian watched over Jed's shoulders. She was surprised to find that Jed was even better at hacking than Sam.

"That should do it," Jed said, closing the laptop and leaning back in the chair.

"Let's go get us some Tulpa's then," Dean's voice came over the speaker, "Good luck guys, don't go dying on us."

"You too," Rian said before pulling her phone off the charger and stuffing it in her pocket. "Okay, Jo and Greg, this is your hunt, what's the plan?"

* * *

Jed and Rian were stationed behind the house of the witch while Jo and Greg were coming in through the front. As soon as a high-pitched whistle was heard Jed picked the lock on the door and the two entered silently.

Rian had a sheathed knife attached to her belt, courtesy of Ash, and a gun in hand. She stayed close to the older man and followed him in. They were halfway down the hall when there was a crash at the front of the house. Jed and Rian exchanged a look before taking off down the hall.

They found Jo and Greg engaged with an elderly woman who was a lot nimbler than she looked. Greg was sporting a bloody nose and black eye while Jo had a scratch running up the length of her arm.

When there was a break in the fight, the participants breathing heavily, Jed jumped in. He was quick and easily landed a blow on the witch, knocking her down. With the gun, he held in his left-hand Jed fired two shots and the witch was dead.

* * *

April 13, 2007

After that hunt Jed and Rian had been on several more together. They had found that they worked well together. They would both do some research and then Jed would do most of the fighting while Rian would help when he needed it.

"I can help now," Rian assured her friend, "We're not that busy."

"Alright," Jed pulled out a stack of papers and handed them to Rian.

She read through them for a while, occasionally jotting down notes, then pulled out her laptop from under the counter. After reading through several websites she found what she was looking for and turned the laptop for Jed to see.

"Looks like you've got yourself a Vetala." Rian informed him with a smirk, "Vampire wannabes. They poison their victims over a number of days, leaves the body drained and a bite mark."

"Thanks, Ri," Jed smiled at her, pulling out his phone and dialing a number.

After he was done telling the hunter on the other end how to kill the Vetala he turned to watch Rian serve another customer. Jed had been surprised at Rian's knowledge of supernatural creatures when they first met. Rian had explained some of her situation to him but had left out where she came from.

"Have you considered doing a database?" Jed asked and Rian turned to him with a grin before pulling her laptop to her to pull up a document. She turned the screen to face him and then moved to serve another regular patron of the bar.

The top read _All Things Supernatural and How to Kill Them,_ Jed scrolled through to see that it was nearly three hundred pages in length. The last spot being just the word "Vetala."

"When I hear about a creature I do research and put my findings in here," Rian explained, pulling the laptop back to her so she could type, "I plan to set up a website for hunters but I need Ash to finish his secure database so that no one can trace it back to me."

"Have I ever told you that you're brilliant?" Jed teased with a grin.

"Not this week," Rian teased back before closing her laptop, "wanna play some pool when my shift's over?"

"Sure thing," Jed agreed with a wink.

He had been teaching Rian how to swindle people in both pool and poker. She hadn't been very good at it back in March when they had started but she had improved drastically. She'd earned her fair share of money from the drifters. She knew better than to swindle the Roadhouse regulars.

Halfway through a game of pool Rian's phone rang and she motioned for the rest of the players to continue while she took the call. She didn't know the number but she had been getting more calls from hunters that she had met while working at the Roadhouse, and even some that she hadn't.

"Hello?" She greeted when she was in the backroom of the bar.

Rian nearly dropped her phone at the answering voice. She was not expecting to hear the distinct mix of a British and Scottish accent for at least another year. The demon on the other end of the line was still just a crossroads demon and should not know how to contact her.

"Hello, darling," Crowley greeted and Rian couldn't suppress her shudder, "fancy a chat?"

"Who are you?" Rian asked after checking to make sure no one had walked into the back room with her.

"Don't play coy with me, you know who I am," Crowley retorted, his voice sickly sweet.

"No, I really don't," Rian lied, her voice shaking a lot more than she cared for.

She had talked to both Alastair and Castiel on her own and had received threats from both, but that was nothing compared to talking to the future king of hell. The fact that the demon had her number was frightening.

"Yes, you really do," Crowley said, "I know all about you Finley Errian Ora Fitzgerald."

"My name's Jessica," Rian lied again, hoping that the demon would fall for it. "I think you have the wrong number."

"No I don't, I double checked," Crowley said, "We can do this the easy way or the hard way, sweetheart, but believe me, I will get what I want."

If Rian wasn't so terrified she would have laughed at the clichéd line that Crowley had given.

"I'm sorry?" Rian asked, her voice as innocent as she could possibly make it, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Crowley growled, actually growled, and Rian felt her body freeze at the noise.

"Sounds like we're doing this the hard way," Crowley said, his voice hard.

"I'd actually prefer the easy way," Rian gave in, dropping her farce, "Who told you about me?"

"Let's just call her a friend of ours," Crowley evaded, giving absolutely nothing away.

"Why don't we do the polite thing and call her by her actual name," Rian quipped, using her natural defense of sarcasm helped to calm her in situations like this, after all.

"You're a cheeky one," Crowley chuckled

"And you're a bastard, I'm glad we have this settled. What do you want?" Rian wiped her free hand on her pants and switched her hold on her phone to do the same with the other hand.

"Information," Crowley said.

"The sky is blue because of the reflection of the ocean and the way your eyes see the pigments." Rian started spouting off random facts in hopes of annoying the demon, "Women have cramps on periods because their uterus is trying not to lose blood, some men pop boners when they're angry, 20,000 people died in the eruption of Vesuvius, Cleopatra's Husband wasn't Egyptian. Lance-"

"Enough," Crowley ordered and Rian stopped even though she could hear the amusement in his voice.

"You said you wanted information" Rian reminded him meekly. "I gave you information, Goodbye."

Before Crowley could get a word in edgewise Rian shut the phone, effectively ending the call. She stared at it for a minute before throwing it against the door. The device shattered and Rian grinned, satisfied by her work.

Of course, then she remembered how the Winchesters would freak when they wouldn't be able to contact her. They had nearly caused a panic last week because Rian hadn't answered her phone when she was on a hunt with Jed in Western Nebraska.

Rian sighed and collected herself before heading back out to the bar to use the house phone to call Sam. When he didn't pick up Rian left him a message explaining that her phone was broken and he could contact her via the roadhouse phone or Jed's cell.

She left Dean, Bobby, Ellen and Jo the same message. Because apparently, no one she knew could answer their damn phones.

Once that was taken care of Rian went back to her pool game. Jed could see that Rian was shaken up but he didn't comment on it. Rian appreciated it greatly and made a note to take ten off the hunter's tab.

Jed's phone rang and after answering it he handed it to Rian.

"What happened to your phone, are you hurt, do you need help?" The voice was rushed and Rian couldn't help her smile.

"Dean Winchester, I didn't know you cared that much." Rian quipped with a chuckle. "I threw it at a wall, I'm not hurt, I do not need help at this current point in time and you know that if I did I would call you guys."

Dean was silent for a moment before, "You threw your phone at a wall?"

"Yes"

"Why?"

"Because I got angry, alright? I needed to throw something and it was the closest thing." Rian explained, "Look, I'll get a replacement on my next day off, I can look after myself, Dean."

"Alright, see ya Fin," Dean said before hanging up.

"What was that about?" Jed asked as he accepted his phone back from Rian.

"Ah, I may or may not have broken my phone." Rian told him, "I let the Winchesters, Ellen, and Jo know and Dean freaked."

"How'd you break your phone?" Jed asked curiously.

"I threw it at a wall." Rian deadpanned.

"Why?"

"I was angry," Rian told him with a sigh, "Look, can we drop it. I thought we were supposed to be playing pool."

"Sure thing, sweetheart," Jed accepted her need for space and the two of them returned to their game.

* * *

It wasn't until Rian was alone that night that she really began to panic.

Crossroads demon Crowley had somehow gotten her number and he knew about her. She was afraid of Crowley, but she was even more afraid of the fact that he had information on her. Rian had no idea how or why he was talking to her.

Unless he knew about her future knowledge, but it wasn't like Rian was shouting it out from the rooftops.

After a few hours of tossing and turning Rian gave up and decided to work on her database. She had added what she knew from her personal research, what she remembered from the show, and what she learned during hunts with Jed. Rian was surprised with the amount knowledge she actually possessed about supernatural creatures.

Anytime Rian heard of a new creature or a new way to gank once she knew of she added it to the database. This included how to identify creatures, where they were usually found, and the different characteristics and habits of the creatures. Such as the rougarou eating raw meat, and the vetala poisoning its victim.

She also wrote up about how not all creatures were necessarily monsters, even though she knew that many wouldn't agree with her. She also mentioned that they were few and far between, but it was true.

She had been writing a bit about tulpa's in the database when there was a knock on the door.

"Hey," Rian recognized the voice as Ash's, though it was muffled by the wood.

"Come in," Rian called, setting her laptop aside. She smiled at the mullet rocking badass when he opened the door "What's up?"

"I finished the database and encryptions," Ash said as soon as the door was shut behind him. He looked just as excited as Rian felt.

Rian jumped out of the bed with a grin. Sooner than he could blink Ash found himself in one of Rian's fierce hugs.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you so much," Rian grinned, "Do I need to go to your room to set up the website or can I do it from here?"

"You can do it from here," Ash assured with a grin, "The password is drbad ss42K The A in ass is the at sign and the K is capitalized."

"Thanks, Dr. Badass," Rian hugged him again before rushing to her laptop. She started working immediately and didn't even notice Ash leave the room, his grin turning into a troubled smile.


	18. Checking in and Helping Out

April 17, 2007

Rian walked into the kitchen in the residential area of the roadhouse with bleary eyes. She grabbed a granola bar and was about to exit again when two pairs of arms grabbed her and forced her into a chair. Rian looked up into the worried faces of the Winchester brothers. She put up no fight, too tired to really care.

"What are you two doing here?" Rian asked blandly, shifting her red-eyed gaze from one face to the other. She was pale and her eyes were sporting bags that rivaled midnight on a moonless night.

"Ellen called us," Sam explained gently, resting a hand on her shoulder to help keep Rian focused, "She said you were working yourself to death and that if we were to ever be allowed here again then we had to stop you from killing yourself."

"'m fine," Rian mumbled as her vision began to tilt and spin.

Sam caught Rian as she lurched forward off the chair they had placed her on. He picked Rian up and shifted her a little so that the both of them were more comfortable with the hold. Rian leaned her head against Sam's shoulder, letting her eyes close.

"Fine my ass," Dean growled looking at Rian worriedly. He tried to figure out what she was killing herself over but nothing was coming up.

"Why isn't Jed stopping her?" Dean asked Sam who just shrugged, jostling Rian slightly. All Sam knew was that Rian was in terrible condition and he'd be damned if she didn't get some rest.

The two brothers took Rian to her room, laid her out on the bed and covered her up. They then took liberties to search through her things and figure out what was going on. Sam tried to hack into Rian's laptop but found the complicated encryptions on the login page.

"She has encryptions I haven't seen before just on her login," Sam told Dean as the other brother was reading through some articles that were spread out on the ground, "What the hell is she doing?"

"It's a hunter's database," A voice called from the door and the brothers looked up to see Ash, "She's making an encrypted database for hunters."

"What?" Dean asked, setting the articles aside to look at the laptop over Sam's shoulder.

"She's been working on the website nonstop for four days," Ash said and he looked almost guilty, "If I knew she was gonna work this hard I wouldn't have been so eager to help."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, closing the lid on the laptop and giving Ash his full attention.

"I made the encryptions," Ash smiled a little, proud of the work he had done, though not happy with the result that was currently lying on the bed, "My own invention, she didn't want it traced back to her. I didn't realize she was gonna work herself to death."

"Why didn't you stop her?" Dean asked, not harsh but curious.

"I tried," Ash said before pulling up his shirt sleeve to reveal two bite marks and a large bruise. "You two are lucky you got her when she was this tired."

"Lucky," Sam muttered, looking at Rian sprawled out on the bed.

She looked terrible, the brunette had dark bags under her eyes, her hair was unwashed and she smelled like she hadn't showered in days. Sam grimaced before standing, taking the laptop with him.

"Let's let her sleep and when she wakes we can try to talk to her," Sam offered before leading the two other men out into the bar, where he continued to try to hack the database. He doesn't ask Ash for help and Ash doesn't offer.

* * *

Four hours later found the Winchesters pouring over papers for Ellen while the woman herself worked behind the bar. The older woman was having to cover the bar and assist Jed on his case because Rian was out for the count.

"Thanks for coming out," Ellen said drawing the boys' attention to her, "Jed had to leave for a hunt two days ago and he said he wouldn't be back for a couple weeks."

"It's not a problem," Sam said, smiling kindly at Ellen, "We can stay until we get the full story if that's alright?"

"That's fine by me," Ellen's smirked, knowing that they both missed Rian as much as she missed them, "I could always use two macho helpers around the house."

Dean grimaced at the thought of work but conceded after a glare from Sam. He wasn't about to tell his younger brother that he was also worried about Rian.

The brothers were put to work moving boxes for the next three hours when they heard a crash come from Rian's room. They met Ellen and Ash at the door to the back and tried to figure out who was going to be the unlucky soul to check on Rian.

Sam lost a coin toss and went to knock on Rian's door.

"Rian?" He called when there was no answer, worried about the condition that his friend was in.

The door flew open to reveal a disheveled looking Rian. She looked worse than when the brothers had left her almost seven hours ago. Her hair was tangled enough to look like a rats nest, her eyes were bloodshot, her clothes were in disarray.

The brothers had never seen her look this bad. Even in her slump after killing Pete she had remembered to take care of herself.

"Where's my laptop," Rian growled, her hand snapping out to grab Sam's flannel and pulled the shocked man closer to her, "Which one of you fuckers took my laptop."

"Rian," Sam tried to placate the girl but she was already frantically shaking her head.

"I need my laptop," Rian snapped, a crazed look in her eyes that scared Sam.

"Not right now you don't," Dean said, bringing Rian's crazed look to him as the older hunter approached cautiously, "You're not getting it back until you've showered and talked to us. Rian you're gonna end up killing yourself and as your friends were obligated to stop you." He put his hands on Rian's shoulders and gave her a little shake, managing to dislodge her from Sam's shirt, "Do you understand?"

Rian took a moment to respond while she caught her breath. She was staring at her hands as though they didn't belong to her. Sam and Dean were both poised to stop Rian in case she got violent again. When Rian visibly deflated Sam handed her off to Ellen to take care of.

"You're downright stupid, you know that?" Ellen said once Rian was in the shower. Ellen was sitting on the toilet seat, in case something happened to Rian. "What the hell could be so important?"

"It's a database for hunters," Rian said hoarsely, she paused to rinse out her mouth with the shower water, "I need to finish it as soon as possible."

"Why?" Ellen asked, a knot forming in her stomach. She didn't like where this whole thing seemed to be headed.

"I feel like something bad's gonna happen to me." Rian said pouring shampoo into her hands, "And since I've been here this is the one thing I've done that could actually make an impact, y'know, save lives. If something does happen to me then I need this to be complete."

"Why can't you ask Ash for help?" Ellen asked genially, "Or Sam, they're both plenty smart enough."

Rian didn't reply for a few minutes after that. It was only when Ellen thought she wouldn't answer that Rian spoke. Ellen felt her heart clench at how desperate Rian sounded.

"I have to do this on my own" Rian told her quietly, "I need to prove to myself that I'm not useless."

"Honey, no one here thinks you're useless," Ellen said, "hell, you've help more hunters than even Bobby has."

"But what good is that if I think I'm useless?" Rian asked.

Ellen found that she didn't have an answer.

* * *

After a short nap, Rian made her way to the kitchen where she found Sam taking a pot off the stove. She watched from the doorway while he strained what turned out to be spaghetti. It was only when Sam turned around that he noticed Rian.

"Sleep well?" He asked after a moment of taking in her appearance which was improved from what it had been a few hours ago

"Yes," Rian said, "Where's my laptop?"

"Not 'til you've eaten," Sam argued. Rian grumbled but sat down at the table, watching while Sam finished the food. "Why does this matter so much to you?"

Rian nearly slammed her head on the table. She was tired of people asking her that question. First Ash, then Ellen, she had even gotten a text from Jed, and now Sam. Couldn't they just leave her be?

But then, Sam was her friend. Sam would understand. Maybe not right this second but someday he would.

"Do you ever have those moments where you feel like you have to do something and you won't be complete until it's done?" Rian asked, wringing her hands in her lap, "Almost like an addiction."

"Uh, sure," Sam said, placing a plate in front of Rian and taking his own place at the table with a plate of his own.

"Anyways, this is one of those things." Rian explained, lifting up her fork but moving no further than that, "I feel like I have to do this. I mean, I have knowledge of things you and Dean aren't going to encounter for years. If I get all of this information in one place… Sam, just think of the lives I could save."

"I understand that," Sam said, also not touching his food, "But why are you in such a hurry to finish this?"

"I feel like something bad is going to happen." Rian told him after picking at her food for nearly two minutes, "and I've learned to trust my instincts in the last three months. I mean, I've always had this future knowledge. Hell, I know things that are going to happen all the way in 2014. But none of that includes my involvement. If I change things so drastically that none of what I know happens, or if something changes and you and Dean don't get the information you need. I want it to be there."

"But-" Sam started to interrupt but Rian continued over him.

"And I've set dates on some of the information. It'll only be available when those dates happen." Rian explained, her voice rushed and panicked, "Sam please, where is my laptop?"

"You finish your food and I'll get it for you," Sam gave in after a moment, standing from the table, "But Rian, please take care of yourself."

"I'll try," Rian whispered once Sam was gone.

* * *

April 20th, 2007

"You screwed up, Rian," Bobby said into the phone and Rian couldn't help but groan. She had gotten a call from the hunter every day since Ellen had contacted him about her breakdown.

"I know Bobby, I know," Rian assured him, not for the first time, "it's a thing that happens from time to time. If you know me for long enough you'll get used to it."

"What do you mean?" Bobby asked

"Well, last time I got this obsessed with something I ended up in the hospital for three weeks because I was dehydrated, malnourished, and had lost thirty pounds in a month."

She could hear Bobby sigh and Rian couldn't help but chuckle as Bobby replied; "Well, I'm just glad the boys were there to snap you out of it,"

"Me too, Bobby," Rian told him, "if I get that way again feel free to let them beat it out of me."

Bobby chuckled, "they told you about their stupid plan, right?"

Rian grinned even though the older hunter couldn't see her, "Bobby, Bobby," She tsked, "I came up with their "Stupid Plan", it was used in the show and it worked."

"Idjit," Bobby grumbled,

"I love you too, Bobby," Rian teased before looking up when someone tapped on the bar to get her attention, "But look, I gotta go, someone here wants to get drunk and it's my job to enable them."

"Talk to you soon, kid," Bobby promised before there was a click and the line went dead.

Rian finished serving her customer his drink before pulling out her laptop. For the most part, her website was organized but there were still a few more future dates that Rian had to set up. Some of them were ballparked but hopefully, she wasn't too far off with any.

The door to the bar opened and Rian looked up to see Jed, who wasn't due back from his hunt for another week. She groaned when he caught sight of her and narrowed his eyes. She'd gotten enough lectures from the Winchesters, the Harvelles, and Bobby in the past three days. She did not need one from her older gay friend.

"You're an idiot," Jed greeted and Rian rolled her eyes.

"I'm obsessive, I know, I'll start therapy as soon as you find one I can tell everything to," Rian said, grabbing a rag and wiping down the bar just so she had something to do. "You know, there should really be a hunter support group. Maybe then less of us will die of colon cancer"

"Rian," Jed sighed and Rian tossed her rag at him, hitting the hunter in the face.

"I really don't need a lecture, Jedidiah," Rian admonished, "what I need is your support."

Jed smiled and dropped a flask on the counter, "can you fill this with whiskey, I gotta hit the road again."

"You best not be drinking and driving, asshole," Rian said, her tone betraying her amusement.

"And risk your wrath?" Jed teased, "Nah, I'm saving it for the hotel tonight."

"Gonna go find yourself a nice man then?" Rian asked while she searched for the whiskey that Jed preferred. She gave a small whoop when she found the bottle and started pouring it into the flask.

"Nah, gonna spend my night lonely, as per usual," Jed grinned before, "I'll see ya again in the next week, darling."

"Why'd you stop by if you were just gonna leave again?" Rian asked with a grin.

"To check in on my favorite idiot," Jed teased and Rian looked over her shoulder as if she was looking for someone.

"Ash isn't here, Jed," Rian teased back, smiling when Jed rolled his eyes at her.

The hunter walked around the bar and pulled Rian into a hug, which she easily returned. Rian patted the hunter on the shoulder with a gleam in her eye, appreciating the hunter and all he put up with from her.

"Don't you get all emotional on me, young lady," Jed said sternly.

"Whatever, Jackass. Get you and your emotionally stunted pea brain outta here before I kick ya out." Rian said affectionately.

"Love ya, missy," Jed told her before taking her advice and leaving Rian in peace.

* * *

April 23, 2007

"Rian, I need your help," Jed's stressed voice tore at Rian and she quickly tore off her apron and apologized to Ash before going into the backroom.

"What's up, buttercup?" Rian asked lightly, wanting to put Jed into a better mood.

"I thought I was hunting a werewolf but silver didn't kill it," Jed told her, she could hear the slight amusement under the overwhelming confusion in the man's voice.

Rian hummed before pushing the door open and heading to the bar to grab her laptop from under it. She placed the silver contraption on the countertop and opened the lid before booting the dying thing up. She was gonna have to put a new laptop on her list of things to bug the Winchester brothers for.

"Tell me 'bout the creature, Jed," Rian prompted when the man fell silent. She sighed in relief when her laptop finally booted up and she was able to log in. Though the logging in part took more time than turning on the laptop had.

"Well, I thought that it was a werewolf. Y'see the creature has been tormenting a small town in Oregon since last May every month on the full moon." Jed told Rian as she opened her original document.

"That does sound like a werewolf, yeah," Rian said, scrolling through to the 'W' section of the thing. "Alright, I have here creatures that are similar to werewolves."

"What can you tell me, Ri?" Jed asked heaving a sigh at the woman, "Tomorrow night's the full moon and if I don't get it I'm going to have to wait another month for some other poor bastard to be killed."

Rian bit her lip as she scrolled through the pages. She skipped the creatures that she knew it wouldn't be. It was unlikely for the thing tormenting this town to be acting out of its natural instincts, especially if it was killing people.

"Are you sure it's only one?" Rian asked, wanting to rule out creatures that were more likely to hunt in packs.

"Pretty sure it's just the one, the bastard got me good," Jed reassured her

"Where exactly are you?" Rian asked as she made a note to create subcategories of creatures that could be mistaken for one another. Such as a werewolf and whatever Jed was hunting.

"Silverton, Oregon," Jed replied, "It's about two hours from Portland."

"Alright, I'm booking a ticket to Col. Springs for today, I'll be to Springston by tomorrow," Rian said, pulling up her browser to do just that.

"What?"

Rian smiled to herself before turning her attention to booking the ticket. Once that was done she turned to Ash and asked if he could take over the bar for a couple hours while she packed. Then Rian turned her attention back to Jed.

"Rian I can handle this," Jed told her and Rian shook her head even though the other hunter couldn't see it.

"Jed, I know you can," Rian reassured the man, "you're gonna let me help you, though. Whatever this is it's not a werewolf and since you don't know how to kill it then you're gonna let me be backup so you have even less of a chance of getting yourself killed."

"Fine," Jed conceded after a moment, "but you have to do everything I say, no arguments."

Rian pulled the phone away from her ear in confusion as if the screen would give her the answer that she was looking for. When she put it back to her ear Jed was calling her name impatiently.

"First off, Jeddy, I have never argued with you on a hunt unless I was one-hundred percent sure I knew what I was doing," Rian cut the man off, "and secondly if you don't want me there then I still have time to cancel the ticket for a partial refund."

"You're right, Ri, sorry," Jed apologized and Rian grinned into the phone.

"As long as you know you're being an idiot." Rian accepted his apology, "I'll call ya when I get to the airport, you best not be too drunk to pick me up, asshat."

* * *

While Rian wasn't as afraid of flying as Dean she was most definitely nervous as she boarded the plane. Her only experience flying had been a short jaunt to Spokane Washington from Seattle and back when she was twelve. Her parents had wanted to give her the experience she had never had before but didn't want to overwhelm her.

When she finally got out of the airport Rian was glad to find Jed waiting for her. She slid into the man's arms and took comfort in his hug for a moment before pulling back.

"Let's get to the motel and figure out what we got going on here," she suggested gently when she noted the haggard look Jed was sporting. "I'm gonna drive and you're gonna sleep, just get me outta this godforsaken airport."

Jed nodded and lead Rian out to his car, a small old thing with surprisingly good gas mileage and comfortable seats.

"How's the database?" Jed asked when they were on their way to Silverton, with Rian driving.

Rian shrugged, not taking her eyes off the road. She was a careful driver, borderline paranoid, because of the way both her parents had died.

"I thought of a new section to add to it but other than that it's pretty much done," Rian supplied when they were finally on the freeway. "It's gonna go up in about a month, though, that's only if I don't find some other thing to add to it."

"You can just add more later, isn't that the whole point?" Jed asked pointedly.

"True," Rian replied thoughtfully before giving the road her full attention. They may have avoided rush hour but Rian still didn't trust the other drivers sharing the road with her.

* * *

The motel was just like every other one Rian had stayed in during her time with the Winchesters. The paint on the walls was a fainted peeling yellow, the stains on the floor were questionable, and the sheets probably hadn't been washed since January.

There was only one bed but it was large enough for the both of them. The painting over the bed looked like it had been taken from a dumpster of a restaurant that had been farm themed at one point.

"I'm gonna shower," Rian told Jed before grabbing her duffle bag and moving into the small bathroom.

She was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the towels. While they had slipped from fluffy to course ages ago they weren't the threadbare piece of fabric that she had expected considering the non-existence of the water pressure and the lack of hand soap.

Once she was dressed for the day Rian went out to join Jed who was reviewing his case files again. She joined him at the table and grabbed half the stack. They fell into a routine as they both worked tirelessly to get as much information as they needed.

"Let me make a phone call," Rian said after a couple hours, pulling out her phone and dialing Bobby's number.

"What do you want now?" Bobby asked gruffly when he picked up and Rian couldn't help but grin.

"The answer to all of my questions," Rian replied immediately, "one being what creature is similar to a werewolf but not actually a werewolf."

Bobby was silent for a moment but Rian could hear him shuffling books around in the background. She waited patiently for him to start talking as she read over some of the notes she had made again. She wanted to be able to document the similarities between werewolves and whatever the fuck they were hunting when she and Jed were back at the roadhouse.

"What can you tell me about it?" Bobby asked a couple minutes later.

"Talk to Jed, he's been on the case since the start," Rian said, tossing the phone to the older man before going and collapsing on the bed. She was tempted to pull her laptop out and work on the database but she knew that she needed to take a break from it.

She closed her eyes for a moment and was surprised to feel herself being shaken awake by Jed after an indeterminate amount of time. She blinked lazily before stretching and rolling off the bed to the floor with a thud. Rian glared at Jed when all he did was laugh at her.

"What'd Bobby say?" Rian grunted as she pulled herself off the floor and straightened out her clothes.

"He said it was an Ookami," Jed told her while handing the younger woman a bottle of water that she accepted gratefully.

"Who the fuck names these things?" Rian grumbled as she grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder, "It literally means wolf what the hell."

"Anyways," Jed said amusedly, "apparently you're supposed to stab it seven times to kill it."

"Alright, let's go gank this S.O.B." Rian grinned before leading the way out of the motel.

* * *

Easier said than done, it turns out. The Okami had abandoned its previous hideout so they were stuck slinking through town in an attempt to find the thing. She was disappointed when they only had time to grab a bite from a gas 'n' sip rather than stopping at a dinner.

It wasn't until almost nine that evening that they caught a lead. They were sitting in Jed's car, listening to the police scanner when a call came in about a break in. The only significance of the call was that no address was being given. Just the description of a building and a general location.

Jed and Rian shared a look before Rian threw the car into drive and took off. They both knew the building, it was one of the ones that they had checked out that afternoon. Rian pulled up across the street and ignored Jed as he climbs into the back so it was easier for him to see.

With both of them watching the building intently it was no surprise that a knock on the passenger side window surprised them. They both turned to see a young girl at Jed's window. Cautiously Jed rolls down the window to better address the girl but before anyone gets a chance to speak there's a scream from the building Jed glances at Rian and nods.

Rian throws open the door after reaching into the backseat to grab her bag and pull out the knife she would need. She had a gun tucked into the waistband of her jeans and with one glance back at Jed she was running to the building.

Inside the old house was just as barren as it had been that morning. The boards didn't squeak but Rian still treads carefully as she looked for the source of the screaming. Every room on the first floor was empty and she was making her way up the stairs to the second floor when she heard the scream again, making her jump.

Rian paused and listened turning her head to the side in hope of being able to detect where the sound was coming from. Once her heartbeat was back to normal Rian continued up the stairs only to be met by a speaker system and a laptop playing the sound of a woman's scream on a three-minute loop.

With a curse, Rian tore down the stairs and outside to find that Jed and the car were gone. She cursed her stupidity and pulled out her phone, dialing Jed's number. A ringing sound coming from across the street made Rian pause before she ran across to find that Jed had left his phone behind.

Rian ran her hand through her hair before she brought her phone up, hitting two on the speed dial, and bringing it to her ear.

"'Ello?" The younger Winchester said, sounding like he just woke up.

"Hey Sam, I need your help."

* * *

 _A/n: I'm so sorry this took me so long to get out. Like, school, work, clubs, family, life, and writer's block all got in the way. But I'm back! This story is winding down and then there will be time between this and the sequel but I already have it mostly planned out. Which means I'll hopefully have a sequel started before this summer where I'll be working 24/5. Please review! -Ryn._


	19. Deals and Whatnot

**All Hell Breaks Loose**

"Rian, what's up?" Sam asked groggily.

"Jed's gone missing," Rian informed the younger Winchester as she checked how much ammo remained in the clip of her gun. She re-holstered it before scanning the area as she started down the street. There was no way for Rian to take out whatever creature she and Jed had actually been hunting with her remaining ammunition and her attention was more on her missing friend anyways.

"Him too?" Sam yawned, alerting Rian to the fact that she had just woken the Winchester up.

"What do you mean, him too?" Rian asked, pulling the phone away from her ear to glare at it, as though her glare could reach Sam through the phone, "what didn't you tell me?"

"Dean thought it would be best not to tell you since you've obviously had your hands full recently and-" He cut off when Rian nearly growled into the phone.

"Sam, just tell me what happened or I swear to God I will come through this phone and beat it out of you," Rian threatened.

"Dean went missing," Sam started continuing quickly when he sensed that Rian was going to blow up in his face, "but, but, but, he's back now and he's fine which is why we weren't going to tell you."

Rian sighed, "why didn't you call me when he first went missing? I could have helped."

"I knew you were helping Jed on a case," Sam said before sighing tiredly, "look, Rian, it doesn't matter. Dean's fine now and we need to help Jed. What can you tell us?"

"We were in Silverton, Oregon tracking an ookami and now he's missing," Rian explained, "like, car gone drove off and left me stranded with nothing, kind of missing."

There was a pause as Sam relayed something to Dean who responded in his usual gruff manner.

"Get back to your motel, see what you can find," Sam ordered, "Dean and I will be there in a few hours."

"I'll text you the address," Rian says, relief in her voice, "thanks."

* * *

Rian made it back to the motel just as her phone rang again. After seeing that it was Ash she put the phone on speaker and got to work packing her belonging into one bag, rather than the two she had previously had.

"Fin, Sam told me you're in a bind," Ash greeted. She could hear what sounded like a busy road in the background, "and since they're in the middle of the country I'm to be your chauffeur."

"Sweet," Rian said with a small smile, "how long til you're here."

There was a knock on the door, she could hear it through the phone as well.

Rian went to answer the door and tackled Ash in a bear hug. The man chuckled and hugged her back. After a moment Rian pulled back and gave a watery laugh.

"Sorry, sorry," she grinned, "It's been a little overwhelming."

"I bet," Ash smiled thinly before ushering Rian into the motel, "now let's get your things into the truck and hit the road."

* * *

Travelling with Ash was fun, but the dude had a gob and all Rian wanted to do was sleep. She was worn out and worried and was nearing a panic attack.

"What if he's injured?" Rian said suddenly, cutting off a story Ash was telling about a beehive and a venting system.

Ash glanced at Rian with concern, she usually loved his stories about MIT, "he'll be fine, Fin. We've got an entire hunter network looking out for him. Plus with you and the Winchesters on the case then there's nothing to worry about."

"Thanks, Ash," Rian said, leaning her head against the window to watch the scenery fly by.

Ash seemed to sense that she wanted silence now and was quiet as Rian fell into a trance, lulled by the feeling of the truck on the road. She didn't sleep but it was as close as she was going to get in the next few hours to it.

A few hours later, after a large chai tea and some pastries, Rian was feeling much better than she had been.

"Did the boys say where we're meeting them?" Rian asked, reading the signs that said they were somewhere outside of Wyoming, "I can take over driving if you need to rest."

"The Roadhouse," Ash told her, "and I got it, sweet cheeks."

"Call me that again and I'm gonna gut you," Rian grumbled before pulling out her phone to see if anyone had sent her updates, there was nothing.

* * *

Rian opened her eyes as the car pulled to a stop. She'd fallen asleep only an hour ago after Ash had practically force fed her some melatonin. The sight of the roadhouse was a welcome one and Rian nearly fell out of the truck in her rush to get inside.

She ignored Ash's chuckle as she made her way inside, quickly spotting Ellen and pulling the woman into a bone crushing hug. There was something about hugs from a mother that made it feel like everything was going to be okay.

"Hey, honey," Ellen greeted with a light chuckle, rubbing Rian's back, "you okay?"

"I'll be fine," Rian said, pulling back and rubbing her eyes, "I know we'll do our best to find Jed but I'm worried that we're gonna be too late."

"Oh, hun," Ellen said, leading Rian to the back, "why don't you take a shower and we'll work on a plan. Those Winchester boys should be here by this evening."

"Thanks," Rian said before going into the bathroom and doing as Ellen said.

* * *

Her eyes opened as she felt her phone buzzing next to her head. After her shower, Rian had talked to Jo and Ellen for a bit before the two women and Ash had forced her to get some sleep. Rian had been reluctant but they had promised to wake her if they received any news on Jed's location.

"This is Rian," She answered, not even bothering to check the caller ID.

"Rian, it's Dean," The older Winchester said, there was panic in his voice that made Rian sit up, wiping the sleep from her eyes.

"What's up, Dean?" Rian asked, checking the alarm clock next to her bed to see that it was only five in the morning.

"Sam's gone missing," Dean told her firmly, "do you have any idea where he could be?"

Rian felt her mind go blank before she threw back the covers and jumped out of bed, cursing the whole time, "shit, fuck, shit. Yeah, I have an idea where he could be. But Dean, I don't know specifics let me talk to Ash while you call Bobby. We'll need his help."

"Alright," Dean said, "Tell me what you know, Rian. And I don't give a damn about timelines or any of that shit. This is my brother we're talking about and I'm not gonna let you get him killed."

"It's Azazel," Rian murmured after a moment, "he's taken all his _chosen_ and brought them to the same location. I just can't fucking remember where that is."

"You go talk to Ash, I'm gonna call Bobby," Dean ordered, "we're gonna gank this son of a bitch."

"That's an insult to bitches everywhere," Rian quipped before getting serious again, "I'll call you if my hunch plays out."

"Talk to you soon," Dean said before hanging up.

Rian didn't even bother to get dressed before going to Ash's room and knocking on the door. He answered just as bleary eyed as she was.

"Sam's gone missing. I've got an idea on where he is but I need your help," Rian told him, not waiting for a greeting.

"Alright, alright," Ash grumbled, "pushy pushy. Let me grab my laptop and I'll meet you in the kitchen."

Rian nodded before heading to the bathroom to wash her face and use the toilet. Once she was done she went to the kitchen where she started on some eggs for Ash and french toast for herself.

Ash entered the room some five minutes later and poured himself a glass of orange juice before getting his laptop set up at the table. Rian set the eggs next to the man before taking her seat next to him.

"So, what do you have?" Ash asked Rian after polishing off his eggs.

"Not much," Rian said honestly, "all I can remember is a bell, I'm not sure what the bell has to do with anything. Why don't we just start looking for signs of demonic activity? And I don't mean the typical cow tipping shit, I'm talking about the big stuff here."

"Alright," Ash agreed before getting to work.

Rian watched as he entered formula after formula into a program and was amazed to see what was popping up on the screen. Ash had created a program to track demonic signs, right now he was just updating it to keep an eye out for anything that was big. Something beyond their usual signs.

"Fin, you should get some sleep," Ash urged, ushering the woman out of the kitchen and to the room that was officially hers, "I know you're worried but I'll wake you up if there are any updates."

"Alright," Rian agreed, if only because she was struggling to keep her eyes open, "but if you find anything new on either of them you wake me up immediately."

"Will do, princess," Ash said, ducking out of the way as Rian swung at his arm.

* * *

When she woke the next morning there was no information on the whereabouts of either of the men. And with Rian's laptop missing there was no access to the database she had made. She'd already given Ash the information that she could remember and was just twiddling her thumbs idly as she waited for something, anything, to come in.

"Stop that," Ellen snapped, placing a hand deftly on Rian's bouncing leg, "if you're not gonna help go hang out in the kitchen with Ash, your nervous energy is ruining my business."

"He already kicked me out of the kitchen," Rian complained, but she stood up anyway and put herself to work wiping down tables, needing something to expel all the nervous energy she was feeling.

"Well, I'm heading out with Jo to get some more peanuts. Some asshole last night ate us out of our whole stash," Ellen said, "make sure no one raids our bar."

"Will do, ma'am," Rian said with a cheesy salute, to which Ellen slapped her on the back of the head.

Not much later Ash texted Rian who was playing pool with one of the locals. He had tried to hustle her when Rian first showed up but quickly learned that Rian was not one to be messed with. They were the only two there so there was no need for Rian to man the bar.

Rian stopped the game and went to Ash. The man left since his only source of entertainment was gone.

"I've found something," Ash said when Rian popped into the kitchen. He'd moved out there claiming he didn't want Rian to see the mess his room was.

Rian knew he wanted an excuse to be closer to the food.

"Have you called Dean?" Rian asked after looking at what Ash had found. It was a large amount of activity in a remote area of South Dakota.

"Yeah," Ash said before sniffing.

"Do you smell that?" Rian asked, also smelling what must have been an electrical fire coming from the back. "Shit."

Ash nodded his agreement before grabbing up his laptop and making sure Rian was in front of him as they exited the building through the front.

"Someone started that fire," Rian said, grabbing the bag that she'd left in Ash's truck, "we gotta make sure they don't know we escaped."

"How?" Ash wondered, watching Rian pull out a knife and some holy water. She doused the knife with holy water before moving around the building. She showed him the devil's trap engraved into the knife with a grin Ash followed behind her, shaking his head.

Rian had definitely changed since he first met the woman. She was a lot more confident and he'd consider her to be a fully trained hunter by now. She had even more tricks up her sleeves than some of the oldest hunters he knew.

"Stay behind me," Rian ordered as she peeked around the building before nodding the all clear. "Whoever did this was confident that they'd get away with it."

"Rian," Ash said breathily, feeling someone behind him when all of a sudden a knife went through his stomach.

"Shit," Rian said before jumping at the demon behind Ash. She stabbed the woman through the chest and kicked out, careful to avoid Ash, who was on his knees on the ground. "Bitch."

Rian dropped to her knees next to Ash, grabbing the older man's hands. She grimaced when she saw the wound. The knife had fallen out and Ash was breathing shallowly.

"I can't do nothing," Rian said before removing Ash's shirt and using it to create a makeshift bandage. She then dragged Ash to his truck and, with a lot of grunting, lifted him inside. "Don't you dare give up on me Ash."

The man didn't reply as Rian got into the driver's side, having taken Ash's keys from his pocket. She floored it out of the parking lot, kicking up the gravel behind her. She'd been surprised that there was only one demon but thanked God that there was no one following her. She needed to get Ash to the hospital, even if it meant confronting more demons.

* * *

 _The room she was in was an aged yellow. At one point it had been a cheerful daisy color, but no it looked more like stomach bile. On one of the walls was a four paned window, next to it was a cracked oil painting of an evergreen forest. The other walls were empty._

 _In the middle of the old oak floors was a white table with two blue folding chairs. She didn't recognize the room but she did recognize the man occupying one of the chairs._

" _Why am I here?" Rian demanded, glaring at the angel in the chairs._

" _You know where Sam is," The angel said, she knew it was Castiel but she could easily be wrong. The angel in front of her was using the body on a woman probably around forty years old with graying brunette hair and laugh lines surrounding gray eyes._

" _I have a general idea of where Sam might be, yes," Rian said, sitting in the chair and crossing her arms over her chest, "why do you care? If you guys wanted to stop this you could easily step in."_

" _We cannot," the angel said, tilting her head to one side, confirming that it was indeed Castiel._

 _Rian groaned, letting her head fall back as she slid down in the chair, "don't give me your 'I'm a soldier' bullshit, Castiel. What you are is heartless."_

" _We need you to save Sam," Castiel said, ignoring what Rian was saying._

" _What do you mean?" Rian asked, sitting forward and eyeing Castiel with a raised brow._

" _If Dean saves Sam then Dean will start the apocalypse, we would like to avoid that," Castiel said._

" _So you're asking me to sell my soul for Sam?" Rian asked she scoffed when Castiel nodded, "what's in it for me, then? Wouldn't you guys rather I just let Sam die? Wouldn't that be more beneficial to you 'no apocalypse' agenda?"_

" _The only way to prevent Dean from selling his soul is for you to do it," Castiel said, and then he was gone._

* * *

Rian opened her eyes with a start, blinking at the white hospital lights. She looked over to see Ash on the bed and gave a sigh. The doctor had told Rian that Ash was lucky to be alive, but he would probably never walk again. He may not be able to move again. The demon's knife had cut through nerves in Ash's spine and until the man was conscious the doctors could not fully assess the damage.

"Fucking angels," Rian grumbled, running her hands down her face.

She jumped when her phone started buzzing on the table next to her and let out a breath before answering it.

"Rian speaking," she said in a tired voice.

"Where are you?" Dean demanded, his voice strained. She could hear the sound of the Impala on the road in the background, as well as Bobby's grumble of 'be nice ya idjit'.

"Hospital," Rian said, "Broken Bow."

"Be there soon," was Dean's reply before the man hung up.

* * *

Thirty minutes later Dean and Bobby were outside Ash's room while Rian discussed treatment options with the doctor. They'd showed up at the same time as the doctor had returned and Rian wanted to deal with the man first, much to the displeasure of Dean.

"Here," Rian said with a sigh pulling out a notepad from her bag, "call this number and he will work everything out for Hank's care."

"Oh," the doctor replied, he was an elderly man who seemed to be on the verge of retirement and Rian was done talking to him. "Are you sure?"

"Look, Doctor, my best friend is missing, my brother is missing, my friend just got stabbed and my other brother and father are right outside and right now I need them. Hank is safe, his father will take care of everything. Just, I gotta go," Rian blinked tears out of her eyes before grabbing her bag and walking out of the room, nearly flinging herself into Bobby's arms, surprising the gruff man. "Can we go somewhere that's not a hospital?"

"Sure," Bobby agreed before leading Rian out with an arm around her shoulders. Dean following behind them.

"What happened?" Dean asked when they were settled in the Impala, Rian in the back with Bobby.

"Demons," Rian said, "Ash had just called you when they started a fire back in his room. We went to check it out when one of them stabbed Ash. It's weird though, there was only one demon there. It's like they wanted us to escape."

"That is weird," Dean agreed before wincing as a sudden headache came on. He grabbed his head with a groan while Bobby and Rian watched in concern, unable to help.

"What was that?" Bobby asked when Dean took in a deep breath.

"I don't know," Dean said with a shrug, "A headache?"

"You get headaches like that a lot?"

"No. Must be the stress," Dean chuckled, "I could have sworn I saw something."

"What do you mean? Like a vision?" Bobby asked, "Like what Sam gets?"

"What? No!" Dean denied vehemently

"I'm just saying," Bobby said with a shrug.

"Come on, I'm not some psychic," Dean protested when another headache hit him. He groaned as he clutched at his head.

"Did you see Sam?" Rian asked quickly from where she was huddled under a blanket, "and a bell? I think it was a bell."

"Yeah, with an engraving," Dean said slowly, eyeing Rian warily.

"Like an oak tree?" Bobby asked, looking between the two.

"Yeah, exactly," Dean said slowly.

"I know where Sam is," Bobby said as Rian pulled out her phone to text Rufus about Ash.

* * *

Sam tried to keep his eyes open but he was too tired to stay on guard. Between explaining everything to a group of people who refused to believe him and the whole demon situation he'd been drained. He wished Rian was there, she knew how to explain things much better than he did.

Sam opened his eyes to see Jed standing in the corner, only he knew it wasn't Jed. He'd met the man briefly when he and Dean had gone to check on Rian at the Roadhouse and again a few weeks later. Jed was aloof. The man in front of him was grinning predatorily. Sam blinked and suddenly he had yellow eyes.

"Jake! Behind you!" Sam warned, jumping to his feet. He got no reaction other than a snore from Jake.

"Howdy, Sam," The demon possessing Jed greeted.

"I'm dreaming," Sam realized.

"What do you say you and I take a little walk?" Jed grinned, exiting the room, knowing Sam would follow.

"You're awfully quiet, Sam," Jed noted once they were outside, "You're not mad at me, are you?"

Sam glared at the demon before demanding: "Have you been pretending to be Jed this entire time?"

"Of course not," he grinned, "I figured this would be a good way to get to your little girlie.

"If you hurt Rian I'm gonna tear you to shreds, I swear to—"

Jed chuckled, stopping Sam in his threat, "When you wake up, tiger, you give it your best shot."

"Where's my brother?" Sam demanded.

"Quit worrying about Dean," Jed waved him off, "I'd worry more about yourself."

"Why?" Sam questioned, "You gonna kill me?"

"I'm trying to help you," Jed told the hunter, "That's why we're talking. You're the one I'm rooting for."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Welcome to the Miss America pageant," Jed grinned, "Why do you think you're here? This is a competition. Only one of you crazy kids is gonna make it out of here alive."

"I thought we were supposed to be—"

"Soldiers in a coming war?" Jed interrupted, "That's true. You are. But here's the thing: I don't need soldiers. I just need the one."

"Why?"

"Well, I couldn't just come out and say that, could I, Sam?" Jed shook his head in mock disappointment, "I had to let everyone think they had a fighting chance. But what I need ... is a leader."

"To lead who?"

"Oh, I've already got my army. Or, I will soon, anyway."

"You son of a bitch."

"Honestly, I'm surprised you hadn't guessed," Jed smiled, "I mean, why do you think so many children flamed out already? Max Miller and Andy's brother, what's-his-name? They weren't strong enough. I'm looking for the best and brightest of your generation."

"My generation?"

"Well, there's other generations, but let's just worry about yours," Jed told the young man, "That's why I'm here, Sam. I wanna give you the inside track. You're tough. You're smart. You're well-trained, thanks to your daddy. Sam – Sammy – you're my favorite."

"You ruined my life," Sam argued, "You killed everyone I love."

"The cost of doing business, I'm afraid," Jed informed, obviously not sorry, "I mean, sweet little Jessica – she just had to die. You were all set to marry that little blonde thing, become a tax lawyer with two kids, a beer gut, and a little McMansion in the suburbs. I needed you sharp, on the road, honing your skills. Your gifts."

"What about my mom?" Sam asked after a moment.

"That was bad luck."

"Bad luck?"

"She walked in on us," Jed explained, almost looking regretful, "Wrong place, wrong time."

"What does that mean?"

"It wasn't about her," Jed told Sam, grabbing the man by the shoulders, "It was about you. It's always been about you."

"What?" Sam demanded, dumbfounded by the revelation

"Well…okay," Jed grinned after a moment, "You caught me in a charitable mood. I'll show you." He snapped and they appeared in a nursery that Sam had lived in after he was born. Baby Sam was crying in his crib with the old yellow- eyed demon standing over him, just watching, "Look familiar? It should."

"Relax, Sam, this is just a hi-def instant replay," Jed grinned, "Enjoy the show."

Sam breathed sharply when Mary entered the room. He watched as his mom stopped in the doorway, staring at the yellow-eyed demon in confusion.

"John?"

"Mom!" Sam yelled but he got no reaction.

"Is he hungry?" Mary wondered, approaching the crib.

"Shh," the old yellow eyed demon admonished.

"Okay," Mary said, yawning as she left the room.

"Wait, Mom," Sam yelled, "Mom!"

"What did I just tell you, Sam?" Jed laughed, "She can't hear you. This isn't real."

"What the hell are you doing to me?" Sam demanded as he watched the yellow-eyed demon drip something into the Baby Sam's mouth.

"Better than mother's milk," Jed assured.

"Does this mean I have demon blood in me?" Sam demanded. He growled when the yellow eyed demon just chuckled, "Answer me!"

Sam watched as Mary rushed back into the room. The yellow-eyed demon grinned at her.

"It's you."

"She knew you," Sam noted, blinking at this.

"No!" Sam yelled when Mary was forced against the wall, only to slide up towards the ceiling, "No!"

"I don't think you wanna see the rest of this," Jed said, snapping his fingers.

Sam jolted awake, he grimaced at Jake who was shaking his shoulders.

"Sam, wake up! Ava's missing."

* * *

"Well it looks like the rest of the way's on foot," Bobby remarked as Dean parked the Impala outside a small path.

"Lovely," Rian said as she unbuckled, grabbing a gun and a small box from her bag. She set her phone to silent and left it there. Knowing that the boys would try to contact her if her plan succeeded.

She had been thinking about what Castiel had said, about selling her soul to save Sam. Rian had decided it was worth it when she realized that Sam and Dean needed each other. Dean selling his soul was the catalyst to a bunch of shit in their future and if Rian stopping that could save them all of the pain then she'd do it. She'd do it in a heartbeat.

But more than that if she could prevent Sam's death in the first place then she would save all of them a metric ton of grief.

Rian followed them quietly, going through her plan to save Sam. She considered sneaking ahead of the two hunters but there was no way they wouldn't notice her. She could have explained just as easily what was going to happen but she knew that would break whatever trust Dean had placed in her.

Though, she was starting to think that trust was misplaced. She knew what was going to happen, she knew that Sam was not going to survive the night, and she wasn't saying anything. Surely if she told Bobby and Dean then the three of them could come up with a plan.

Rian shook her head, Dean would just overreact and while Bobby would listen to her they didn't have enough time for that.

"Sam!" Dean called, breaking out into a run.

Rian cursed as she ran after the older Winchester. She stopped and raised her gun, aiming for the man who had grabbed Sam's knife behind him and shooting, only to graze the man's arm.

"No!" Rian yelled when the man, Jake was his name, used the knife to stabbed Sam in the back, twisting it to create a larger wound. "No!"

Rian stumbled and fell to the ground, unable to stop the tears as Jake took off into the woods, Bobby following him. She blinked blearily at the sight of Dean clutching Sam's body, calling his name.

"No. No, no, no, no, no, no. Oh, God. Oh, God" she could hear Dean mutter, "SAM!"

After a moment Rian stood and stumbled unnoticed into the woods. Following the path, they had taken back to the Impala. She considered taking the car but she knew that Dean would need. If not in an attempt to sell his own soul, then at least to find Azazel and end the bastards life.

* * *

Rian remembered seeing a crossroads a mile or two back. She made her way there at a jog, not pausing even though her lungs burned and tears were still streaming down her face. She stumbled and fell a few times but got right back up, ignoring the scrapes and bruises, simply wiping her bloody palms on her pants.

Twenty minutes later Rian made it to the crossroads and fell to her knees, gasping for breath. She gave herself a moment before she started to dig, ignoring the sting as the dirt got into the wounds on her palm.

"Come on, come on," Rian urged herself on, digging faster as if selling her soul sooner would erase the image of Sam dead in Dean's arms from her mind.

Rian buried the box in the hole once it was big enough, knowing she had the right contents in it. She stood up and wiped at her eyes before saying the summoning spell. Blinking for a moment when it wasn't the female demon but instead Crowley that appeared before her.

"Weren't expecting me, were ya darling?" Crowley smirked, watching Rian intently.

"No," Rian agreed frowning, "it seems you were expecting me, though."

"I was," Crowley said with a nod, "I even know what you want."

"How?" Rian asked, sniffing to keep the snot from running down her face.

Crowley handed Rian a handkerchief before answering her question: "Sam's dead so of course the little Winchester's bitch wants to sell her soul."

"Lovely," Rian shook her head, "what else do you want, Crowley."

"Whatever do you mean?" Crowley asked with faux innocence.

"You're playing at something," Rian frowned, "what is it?"

"One month," Crowley said, getting right to it. "I get your soul, Sam gets to live, and you get one month with your Winchester boys."

"Deal."

* * *

 **A/N:** I know, I know, I know. I told you this story would be ending soon and then I didn't update it for eight months. I hit a wall with this story and ended up rewriting this chapter no less than ten times. I wasn't lying about the sequel though! It won't be long, considering Season three was only thirteen episodes and Rian has less time than Dean did, but it will be here eventually!

Thank you for all the reviews, follows and favorites that I've received on this story. I've had a blast writing it the last few years and I can't wait to continue Rian's story in She's a Dreamer!


	20. Author's Note: Sequel Posted!

Author's Note:

Hello friends! I'll be deleting this soon, just wanted to let you know that the first chapter of She's a Dreamer is up!


End file.
